


Full Steam Ahead

by BanoraWhite



Category: One Piece
Genre: Abs appreciation, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, No beta we die like mne, OC, Original Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Self-Insert, first person POV of injuries and pain, more tags as story progresses, nonharmful blunt force trauma (lots), occasional f bombs, original sea goddesses, si/oc would like to get off the ride and go home please
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-01-04 08:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 42,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21194837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BanoraWhite/pseuds/BanoraWhite
Summary: When Kirsten is swept out to sea and into the hands of a flaky sea goddess, being near-drowned and stuffed into the East Blue is not what she'd call the best apology. She's not going anywhere fast without a little adventuring on the side, and with no choice but to hit the open water and hope for the best, it's a good thing the Straw Hat crew runs on one setting: full steam ahead!





	1. Chapter 1

.I.

* * *

General opinion of the beach is that the ideal experience is best in the height of summer. This isn't wrong, mind you— blazing sun, warm sands, and cool waves to splash around in— but I believe a fairly good time at the beach is also at the very end of winter or early spring. The coastal water sure isn't warm enough to swim in, and you might need a sweater… but cool sand squishes between your toes, and the waves crashing over your feet don't quite have the bite of deep winter freeze. On a misty, drizzly day, with rock outcroppings in the distance and evergreen trees bordering the beach, a bracing breeze rustling through your hair… now that's an ideal beach experience.

Honestly I couldn't have been happier for this camping trip. As a treat, one of my clubs had banded together and planned it all out in the week before classes started again. A last mustering before our final college quarter. Campsite reservations had been a snap since it was off-season, and when the day came we all piled into whatever car was available and sped off for some good old rest and relaxation. We'd gotten probably the best available location, a spot right at the edge of the national forest… and directly on the beach. Mile hike in? Still worth it.

Okay, so the drizzle that inevitably started was off-putting to a few of the others not from the area, but I'm distinctly sure that Northwest Profile #60 _perfectly _described the rest of us.

"Hey! _Kirsten!_"

Someone was hollering my name from the trees. Currently? I was on the beach. With bare feet firmly rooted in cool, wet sand. I just waved from where I was, not exactly feeling up to moving from this position.

"Oh my god, are you cold at _all?"_

"Nope!" I hollered back; at the same moment, a swell of ocean water surged past my calves. Yep, I was wearing shorts for my beach experience. I'd change once I was back up at the tents, but until then? Nah. She just shook her head. She was one of the members a little less enthusiastic about the location, but still willing to have a good time and cheerful enough to not let the weather get to her.

"Please tell me you aren't planning on swimming. You aren't going to swim, are you?" _That _made me violently shiver.

"Nooo way, not now. Still way too cold for full-body submersion!" I held my arms up in a giant X for emphasis. The water was fine for wading, but anything more was a straight polar bear swim. Hmm… though, if some of the others wanted to run one in the morning… Whoops, I was still being shouted at.

"We're making dinner soon!" came the call, "The fire's getting set up, ten minute warning."

"Okay, thanks! Sounds good! I'll be up in a few minutes!" I shouted; I saw her head bobbing in acknowledgement, before she turned and vanished back up to camp. Most of our site was on higher ground, just past the tree line. Squinting, I could see a little of everyone else, mostly brightly colored rain jackets. Beach-side, it was just me. Standing out in plain reach of the waves with my shorts, t-shirt, and flannel jacket. Shoving my hands in my pockets I turned back out to the ocean, looking out onto open water. It would be dark soon. Mostly the clouds covered up the sky, so the sun wasn't very visible, but there was a heavy grey twilight settling in. Far away over the waves was a sliver of pale yellow, but that was it.

It was a dramatic backdrop befitting of some epic drama. Just the coast and me. What an awesome camping trip.

Probably I didn't want food disappearing on me (not after the potato fiasco the night before,) but on a last whim I pulled my toes free from silt and waded a little deeper through the surf. I hadn't let the water coast much higher than my knees, but a little further out saw stronger swells that could push me over if I wasn't careful, and a wave welled up to the edges of my shorts. Bracing against the push I contented myself with another minute of just… standing in the water, breathing in the air. A good day, I decided with a smile, and hopefully an even better one tomorrow. I swung around and made to slog back through the water and back to camp, where I'd have to dry the salt off my skin. Luckily I'd left a towel to warm on my camp chair—

There was a tug at my ankles. Nothing much, hardly noticeable… until I found I couldn't move my foot forward without struggling. Foamy water rushed past, pulled back to sea in preparation for the next wave in a torrent of sand.

"What the heck…?" Was I stuck on something? I piece of seaweed? My foot, it wouldn't… _move _right. But I couldn't…

A giant swell surged from behind, pushing at my knees. I gasped, because this one went well above and soaked the hem of my shorts with cold spray. That wave seemed _way _too big; I wasn't that far out, why the heck couldn't I get my ankle _move_—

It's… fuzzy, what happened next. There I was, stuck. The sudden massive wave reached the farthest it could go, and began to recede, just like any other wave would.

Except then came the iron grips around my bare ankles, as the wave rushed past in the roar of the surf… and _pulled._

Yanking me under without even a chance to scream.

* * *

_Fastwaytoofast_flailing_noairit'stoogastgoingwaytofast_there'snoairIcan'tbreathe_desperatelyreachingoutthere'snothingtoholdonto_nononosomeonehelp_allthelightisgoneitwon'tletgo_ITWON'TLETGO—

I snapped awake with a strangled scream. My stomach promptly took the opportunity to revolt, and I keeled over heaving up phantom traces of water still in my system. The memory of _drowning _flashed in mind; but I couldn't taste salt on my tongue or spit out any liquids to speak of… but I was soaking wet.

What… what the hell had happened? I'd been at the beach, about to head up for dinner, when—

A riptide? No, that couldn't be it, not so close to shore, and the signs hadn't been there when I went in. But how could someone have grabbed me? I sure as hell would have noticed some… some _guy _diving into the water just to grab at my _ankles— _where was I? Where the hell was I? What about my friends, were they…o…kay…

Despite hysterical thoughts, and shivers creeping into my body as cold started coming in, it all drained away as I took in where I was.

I wasn't at the beach. I wasn't at the campsite.

I… wasn't anywhere.

All there was… was darkness, and a smooth expanse of midnight-black water, free from even a single ripple. There were… _stars _reflected in the surface, but up above there was _nothing _to reflect, only darkness. Still, a gentle glow of diamond-studded water stretched as far as I could see. Which wasn't much, given that it was, you know, pitch black.

What was I even _on? _Some sort of flat… rock platform thing. Just me, on some strange island in a _strange strange place._

There wasn't any wind or any sort of noticeable temperature, but even so I felt a chill run down my spine. I wasn't heaving anymore, so I drew my knees up to my chest and just… sat. Tried to warm myself still wearing my soaking wet clothes. Tried to think, even a little bit, but all I could managed was numb disbelief at what happened. What I was seeing.

_Everyone at camp… They'll miss me, right? They knew I was out there. They'll notice I'm missing._

_Splish._

…Jesus Christ, what was that? My head snapped around in response to a soft sound emerging from the distance. To my horror, there were ripples forming in the water, growing larger by the second and coming right… _this… way…_

_There was something in the water._

"Oh hey, you're awake?"

…I _definitely _screamed my head off as, erupting from the water like any horror movie creature worth its salt, came a _giant ass thing._ Heart pounding, I threw myself away, scrambling on the ground and trying to gain traction enough to run for it. But there was nowhere to run; the edge of the little island came rushing up and forced me to stop, windmilling back to keep from falling off.

"Woah— wait, stop!"

The _thing _circled the island. In the midst of my panic I was eyeing the water wondering whether or not it would be worth to just jump and make a swim for it—never mind the thing had _come_ from the water— when the fact that it was, well, speaking finally registered. That, and it'd lapped me and effectively was blocking the way. Muscles tense and senses screaming I was ready to bolt at a moment's notice, but finally I took the moment to actually look at… the… thing…

It was… a woman? A _giant _woman. A giant woman's _torso _rising up from the water, with rivulets still streaming down her form. She… didn't have any clothes on. Mercifully I was spared from getting an eyeful thanks to long, dark tresses hair plastered to her front, but with only a faintly glowing light source I couldn't tell if it was actually hair or… something like seaweed. On closer look there was a soft shimmer to her skin, and to my shock I realized she was covered in very fine scales.

So there I was, ogling a giant naked woman in the near-dark, when she braced two pale arms against the island and leaned down to face me—in dawning terror I realized I was only one head tall in comparison— and smiled, with very white, very pointy teeth.

"Have you stopped freaking out, or do you need another minute?"

I stared dumbly at her. She blinked slowly with large, luminous eyes.

"Right! Another minute. I'll wait," she said cheerfully, and did just that, settling down with her head resting on her massive arms. I think I was in some kind of shock; I couldn't really feel my legs. Silence stretched, and the giant woman fidgeted. The surface of the water moved, and I caught a glimpse of something long and sinuous hovering just below the surface. A… tail. Not like a fishtail, but something longer, more serpentine. That was when my knees gave and I sank neatly to the ground. The giant woman lifted her head.

"That's long enough, I'd say!" she said, and her voice boomed in the space around us; I winced and reached for my ears, but she wasn't finished speaking. "Let me just start with this, it is _so _nice to have a visitor way over here," said the giant woman, and she was… giggling. "I don't get too many folks these days, 'specially not from your neck of the woods. But it was a close thing! You're super lucky, because there was like, a one in a hundred chance of you missing the gate and just kinda… drowning." Stare. She giggled again, a little nervously. "Um, anyway, if you're wondering how you got here, you were totally washed out. Then you dropped down here and I was like, 'woah, who's that chick'—"

"Um,"

…that word came from _me. _The giant woman paused to look over, wide-eyed as I cleared my throat and actually _spoke_. "Is... is that what happened? I got swept out to sea?"

The giant seemed delighted I was talking.

"Yup! You were out in the water and got snatched by a totally gnarly wave," she said quite earnestly, but I only frowned because that didn't seem _right._

"Oh," I said, trying not to let my voice waver too much, noticing how small it was "It's just... I was standing in the water, but I wasn't that deep, so... I-I couldn't get my feet to move." It'd all happened so fast, and I focused on the memory as best I could. Something wasn't… "Wasn't I grabbed...? Something grabbed me, pulled me into the water…!"

The giant woman shifted. Her eyes drifted away, somewhere over my shoulder.

"Mmm… No. Nooo, I'm pretty sure a tide dragged you out," she said. Ripples formed where her body moved in the water. "I totally saw it all happen. I mean, it was really quick, like," she mimed a sharp movement with her hand, "That. I mean, these things happen…"

Ugh. I rubbed at my forehead, trying to remember, but everything was so fuzzy. I guess maybe it was a tide. It made more sense, anyway, that I'd slipped. So maybe she was right. Maybe it was just…

"Anyway!" the giant burst out, loudly, and this time I did have to clap my hands over my ears in pain from the noise. "I'm sure you're wondering what even is going on here, so let me explain! I, before you, am Calypso, the guardian of seas!"

In a rush of movement, _Calypso _rose from the water and all at once there was some majestic and otherworldly. Scales flashed, and I saw that where her waist ended, something else began, the long serpentine tail I'd see hidden. She was smiling down at me, great and terrible but with my fuzzy head and denial still setting in there was really only one thing that popped into my head.

"…Like from Pirates of the Caribbean?" I said dumbly, and the giant woman— no, Calypso— abruptly sank back down to my level and, um, pouted.

"Really? That's what you think of first?" she complained, "I mean, that's a cool film, but _seriously?"_

"Wait, you've seen it?" I said blankly. Calypso shrugged.

"Stuff washes up here all the time. I keep up with things." That was a really vague non-answer, but whatever. This whole thing was way too surreal for me; talking sort of helped, though.

"So, uh, guardian of the seas? What's that mean exactly?" she perked up at that.

"Oh! It's neat. Mainly I keep an eye out on the balance of things. Like, harmony between land and sea and stuff. Put good in, get good out and all."

"I… see." I didn't really. She seemed very matter-of-fact about it. "And, um, how exactly did I get here?"

"Right, well, this is sort of my own little ocean of oceans in between worlds. A pocket dimension you could say. Currents make portals all over the place, most of which lead back here. Lucky for you, when you washed out you fell right into one I was nearby! And here you are!"

Portal? _Pocket dimension? _What the _hell?_

"I think I need to lie down," I said weakly, and Calypso did that giggle again that just seemed disturbing on a supposed ocean goddess or whatever.

"It's a lot to take it, I get it," she said sympathetically, reaching down to pat my back in a comforting manner. All that accomplished was nearly knocking flat against the ground, but the thought was there. Still… portals, pocket dimension between worlds…

"Hey, so um…" I licked my lips, suddenly dry, "If I ended up here through one of your portals, does that mean… you can send me back through one?"

Calypso's expression fell.

"…Ah. Yeah, I figured you'd ask about that." The goddess gave a huge, gusty sigh, big enough that some of my hair flew back from the sudden breeze. "See, about that… it's complicated."

I felt a chill.

"What do you mean 'it's complicated?'" I said, and did I really sound that shrill? "Can you or can't you send me back?"

"It's just… living things aren't supposed to come through my portals?" Calypso seemed agitated again; she wasn't meeting my gaze, and was sinking lower in the water to peek over the edge of the island. " They're not really made for that, and uh... uh, usually people don't... survive them?" What. "I look through them to monitor things- see, I can't leave this place- and yeah, _stuff _comes through them because that's the ocean for you, but, they're all one way. Once you've come in one way… you can't go back the same way. They're like whirlpools. The current is against you, and it's... smaller at the exit than the entrance."

No. No, no, this couldn't be happening.

"I need to go back. All my friends are back there, my _family _is back there." I was standing again. My voice was growing louder at the second. I was shouting down a goddess, I thought numbly, which might not really be the best thing, but at the moment I was scared, I was angry. I wanted to go _home._

"And I get that!" Calypso squeaked, "And I feel really bad about that. But it's not all terrible, I mean. I've got a few entrances on my end around here, so I think I can send you somewhere else cool to make up for it!"

"Somewhere else 'cool?' I just want—" Okay, time to stop. Deep breath. Clenching my fists, I did my best to steady my nerves. Now wasn't the time to give in to rising hysteria. "So, what, you can send me back, just on the other side of the world or something?"

"Yeahhh… I can't send you back to _your _world," said Calypso. She winced. "Sorry about that."

My mind went blank.

"What."

"It's the whole pocket dimension thing. Um, by coming here you've torn yourself out of your universe, and those tears sort of fix themselves, which means… you've removed yourself from existence? Something like that. So you can't go back. Um, not the same way you got here, anyway."

A beat. Another one.

Ah. _There _were the tears.

"Oh, oh no, don't cry!" Calypso said, alarmed, but it was too late; my vision blurred. Hot tears were welling up and running down my cheeks. "Look, like I said, to make up for it I can send you somewhere else cool, at least!"

"What does that even mean? I just… I just want to go home!" I choked out.

"Well, I said I'm guardian of seas right?" she said. Suddenly she was grinning, and bouncing slightly up and down. "That's not just of _your _seas. It's of all the seas, all that ever were, all that there are, and all that there ever will be. I exist between every dimension, ever. So I can send you somewhere cool! You know how you mentioned Pirates of the Caribbean?" she looked at me excitedly until I nodded between tears, too miserable to say anything else. "Well, you want to go there?"

….What.

"Excuse me?" Now that was almost enough to shock me out of my tears. Calypso just looked way to ecstatic.

"Like I said, goddess of every ocean _ever. _So if you want I could totally drop you off at Tortuga or someth—"

"Are you _joking_? That's the last place I'd want to be!"

That shut her up.

"Oh. Really? I guess if you don't want to…" the goddess visibly wilted. First of all why the hell would I want to wind up in the 18th century in some sketchy, _dangerous _pirate town? Second of all— she was telling me there was an alternate universe where that actually _existed?_

"Yup! Multiverse theory and all that," Calypso nodded, and I jumped. Apparently I'd said that all out loud. "Anyway, if you don't want to go there… uh… what do the kids read these days… I don't know, do you like manga? What about One Piece?"

…_What._

"Are you telling me you've read One Piece?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, because that was just… waaaay too surreal. "Also, do you have something for pirates, or…?"

"Oooh so you know it!" She seemed awfully excited by that, and came rising back up out of the water.

"Um, yeah, I've read One Piece," I said slowly, still sniffling, "I-I mean, I need to catch up on a bit, but—"

"I love that series so much!" Calypso burst in, positively beaming, and wouldn't that just figure. The goddess of oceans had a thing for Japanese comics. "Which guy is your favorite? Or girl? Personally, Hawkeye is a badass. And I cried _so _much when Ace died, I think I caused a typhoon in the North Blue for days." Great, now my head was spinning from the fact she wanted to discuss faves _and _implied that she'd had direct influence on, what, the _One Piece _dimension?

"Well… Zoro's always great, but Smoker is usually my first favorite…" I ended up answering on shocked autopilot. Wait, why the hell was I telling her? I was only encouraging her!

"Ooh, you like the tough guys, huh?" Oh geez, she was winking at me.

"Look, forget One Piece," I sniffled, "I don't want to go anywhere but back home—"

"It's settled. I've decided!" Calypso evidently wasn't listening to me. Instead she was almost vibrating, eyes sparkling at me in a disturbing manner, and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"What are you—"

"To make up for this whole mess," she said, drowning me out completely, "I, the great and wonderful Calypso, will send you to your own personal dimension!"

"What? _No!"_

"C'mon, it'll be fun, like an adventure! You can give me updates! I'll set you up with the perfect starting point right at the start of the action. I'll even throw in something cool!"

The island under my feet, calm and still until now, started to shake. To my shock the lights in the water were growing stronger. White glow washed over Calypso and I, melting away shadows and making me squint against the harsh brightness… it was because of the lights that I couldn't see her reaching for me until it was too late.

A massive hand wrapped my middle and yanked me forward.

"Hey, quit screaming," said Calypso as I screamed. Screamed my head off because a giant woman had snatched me up and launched herself away from the island… straight into the water. "You might want to hold your breath for this part! It's gonna be a rough ride, but I think I can stretch the portal enough so that you won't drown. But it'll be tight…!"

Naturally, I didn't hold my breath. I didn't have time. No sooner had she oh-so-helpfully shared this with me that she drew a giant breath of her own— and dove.

Later I would remember struggling against the iron grip at my sides. I would remember swallowing water at an alarming rate, having had my mouth open when we submerged. I'd remember the sensation of horrible, horrible pressure weighing in from all sides, so much that I thought I would burst before I could ever breath again—

And _then _there was the spinning. Calypso's grip fell away, replaced by the feeling being pulled through a space that was way, way too small for me, and then a _pop—_

* * *

I erupted into open air with a strangled cry. Sunpots flashed in front of my eyes and blinded me; I'd swallowed so much water that I couldn't get a decent breath in, but to my right was something hard and solid, so I flailed with all my strength until I found a grip and unceremoniously hauled myself up onto a steady surface. Then I hurled up everything in my stomach, which was mostly seawater. That was worse than I remembered from the first time. I never wanted to feel that again. Never _ever. _Panicking, unable to move— God, I'd almost _drowned _and that scared me more than anything at all. So I lay there shivering, trying not to sob and listening to the gentle lap of waves against the shore, and the cry of gulls in the air.

…Gulls.

Bit by bit I forced myself to calm down. Think. _Pay attention. _Gulls meant open air, not darkness. Gulls meant… _land. _My eyes snapped open and I shot upwards, despite my brand new headache and protesting stomach. I couldn't focus on that right now, though, because…

I was on an island. Not the island in the starry pocket dimension, thank god— but it wasn't the beach I'd started on. It wasn't anywhere I recognized even remotely.

_Oh, no._

"Hey, you made it! That's great!"

….I would have been very happy to never hear this specific voice again. Slowly, very slowly I craned my head to look back to where I'd came; specifically, just off the rocky outcropping I found myself on. The surrounding water was chopping, but a patch of it had inexplicably smoothed itself over into a mirror-like surface… from which _Calypso _was staring out from.

She waved at me. I shot her the filthiest, most unhappy look I could manage.

"Where the _hell _did you send me?" I asked, and I was shaking in a combination of nervous, my near-drowning experience and good old fashioned rage. Calypso seemed oblivious to this.

"Um, let me think… I'm pretty sure I managed the East Blue! Yay, first try!" she giggled, and that goddamn _giggle… _no. No, focus on her words.

"East…Blue?" I echoed. Oh, hell no.

"Yeah, that's where I was aiming, and you made it all in one piece! Heheh, pun. Anyway, thought I'd give you one last present before letting you adjust to things. It's a real special something. Between you and me, a heroine's gotta have a cool power for her very own adventure you, you feel me?" She winked. "Just look around. You'll know it when you see it. I've got to go do guardian stuff now, but I'll check in later to see how things go. See ya~"

"No, wait—" too late. A wave crashed over the image of Calypso and wiped it away completely, leaving me… alone.

So I sat there. With Calypso went my rage, but in a way that left me feeling more hollow, physically and mentally drained with all of this… bullshit. The sight of waves was making me sick, so I staggered to my feet and took a good look around. It was an island, all right. From all around I could see open ocean; the island was a tiny one, about the size of a football field across. Most of it looked like rock, but a little ways in was a grand total of three trees, and to these trees I managed to make my way, collapsing in the shade of one with a _thump._

I was barefoot, wearing shorts with a t-shirt and a flannel jacket. I was soaking wet. I had just met a goddess of oceans and had the weirdest experience in my life, and I was a very, very long way from home. Denial gave me that much, at least.

…it sure was a nice day out here. The sun was beating down overhead without a cloud in the sky; it was a far cry from the early spring back… home. No, it was positively tropical. Resting my head against the trunk, I cast a brief look up at the crowns and saw several clusters of a green fruit I couldn't place. Not coconuts… no, that was breadfruit, wasn't it? I'd had that once. Funny, one of them seemed awfully big compared to the others, and was growing bigger by the sec—

_Thunk._

"Shit—!"

With a curse I flung myself back, but not before I was beaned in the face by a frickin' breadfruit; one that just _had _to fall directly on my face, didn't it? Luckily it didn't break the skin, but geez, that probably would bruise later. I turned and leveled a full glare at the thing. It had rolled a few feet away before coming to a stop, sitting innocently in the sun.

…At least, as innocent as a fruit could be when it was covered in whorls and whorls of black spiraled lines that most decidedly weren't on your normal, average breadfruit._?_

"…Oh, _hell _no."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There comes a time when you realize you just want to write indulgent si/oc fic and have a good time, so this one goes out to all the readers writers of si/oc henceforth! (yolo)
> 
> /crossposted from ff.net account


	2. Chapter 2

Maybe a bigger One Piece fan with less personal inhibitions would eat that fruit without a second thought.

I considered myself a decent enough One Piece fan, but I did not touch that fruit. Now, there wasn't any _evidence_ that this was an actual _devil fruit— _hell, how was I supposed to know this was even the world of One Piece? That I was even in the blues and not in some… random part of the ocean? But I was not going to eat that thing out of equal parts doubt, denial, and general stubbornness.

So I sat, beneath the three lone trees and sulked. All day. There was a little bit of fresh water caught in small depressions in the rock, which helped wash the salt off my tongue and keep the thirst down, but I was screwed on food; I couldn't get any other breadfruits to fall despite some vigorous shaking and a few violent kicks, and even with the relative squat nature of the trees themselves they were just high enough out of my reach to climb. Pacing got old. It might have been warm and sunny out, drying out my clothes, but that just left me crusted over with salt and eventually I started to burn from the exposure. Hence, to the meager shade of the trees I went.

Then the sun went down.

_Then_ the _sun_ went _down_.

And _that_ was an experience all on its own. The temperature dropped, the winds kicked up, and I was miserably caught in high flying ocean spray as waves crashed up against the edges of my island. Leaving me partially soaked, shivering, and unable to do anything more than nod off for an hour at a time before I was forced awake by the weather… All. Night. Long.

By the time morning came around again, I was a mental and physical wreck, hunched over and twitching at the slightest sounds. Somehow _that one breadfruit _had managed to stay _exactly _where it had fallen the previous day, and I could feel it. Sitting there. Taunting me.

…I'd barely been stranded here a day, and already it was getting to me.

Constantly scanning the horizon got me nowhere; not a single ship appeared on the horizon, though I'd been tricked a few times by a low drifting cloud in the distance. I still looked, holding out on the chance that maybe, just maybe I'd be lucky, but at a point I was mostly waiting for one thing.

Calypso. She'd said she'd check in 'later;' now, 'later' could mean anything. As in anywhere from a day to a week to… anyway. I was hoping it would be the former. Really, _really_ hoping. Desperately hoping; I did not want to endure another night like last night, and just when the thought alone was making me panic… the ocean went still, and the waves died down to nothing. It was an eerie sort of calm, but see, I remembered exactly what had happened yesterday and scrambled to the first section of the island I'd touched, and sure enough… there was a smooth-as-glass portion of water and the image of Calypso coming into focus.

"Hi!" Calypso said brightly, "How'd the first day go… oh, wow, you look kinda horrible."

"Gee, I wonder _why_," I snarled. Calypso looked taken aback, while I jabbed a finger inches from the surface of the water. "I've been stuck here all last night. And all morning! And all day yesterday_!_ I'm tired, I'm sunburned, and I am _starving!"_

The so-called sea goddess visibly wilted. "Oh… did the fruit not give you a useful power?" she said; she was tapping her fingers together like a dang guilty anime protagonist. "Oh no! Did I mess up? Did it give you a terrible power like the ability to tell nothing but really bad jokes?"

"I wouldn't know, because I haven't eaten it!"

"Wait, huh!?" She actually looked shocked at that. "You didn't eat it? I thought you'd be all over it! I know I would. I mean, isn't that any One Piece fan's dream…?"

"_How do I know it's even the real thing?"_

…I was screaming at the goddess of seas. You know what? Maybe I didn't care. I didn't care about her shocked expression, or that angry tears were welling up in my eyes. Screw it, I had the right to scream as much as I want. "I don't want to be here," I continued, struggling against a cracking voice, "I want to go home. I want to see my friends, I want to see my family. I want to go _home, _not be stuck in… wherever this place is."

"East Blue…" Calypso piped up.

"Whatever!" I took a moment to wipe at my eyes. "Look, this is all your fault, isn't it? That this has happened in the first place? And there's nothing you can do to send me home? Nothing at all…?"

I trailed off. By now I could add runny nose and bloodshot eyes to the list of 'why I look horrible.' Calypso, though… Calypso looked absolutely crushed. _Good, _I thought, more than a little viciously, she _should _feel awful. If a little emotional manipulation was what it took, then by all means I'd play up my very real frustration to the max.

"…I'm sorry…"

…Calypso was so quiet I could barely hear. But to my alarm, I saw big, fat tears welling up in her eyes, and oh, geez she was crying.

"I-I-I'm _sorry!" _she stammered out, and then promptly burst into tears. "Y-you're right, it is my fault… but I thought… I thought I could fix things and send you somewhere fun… B-but I didn't even think about your feelings… I'm sorryyyyy!"

"Oh, for…" I slapped a hand to my face and groaned. Great. Not quite what I was going for; even in this situation I felt uncomfortable making anyone cry in general, and as far as I could see Calypso was truly miserable, and wailing her lungs out. And bursting my ears.

"Hey… Hey, please stop crying," I said, forcing down my own sniffles, "I mean… you said it was a freak accident, I know. But you see where I'm coming from, right? Like, I really, really just want to go home, is all…!"

Calypso hiccupped; turns out she was a bit of an ugly crier. And… it looked like her mascara was running. Wait, how was a sea goddess wearing mascara? "I k-know," she sniffed, "And I'm sorry… I really am… but I sort of panicked, and when you said you liked One Piece…"

"...Right. Right, let's just start there, okay? One thing at a time."

I straightened, stretched out my stiff back, and took a deep breath. One of us had to be calm here. Calypso was looking a little better, but her lip was wobbling a bit. At the very least she was talking to me… right? "So… this really is the East Blue? …_the _East Blue?"

"Uh-huh. One of the four oceans of the world. The world of One Piece, of course. This one's even as written by Eiichiro Oda! Well, sort of, it's still a variation."

…Okay. _Okay._

"Oh, my god…" I moaned, "You realize how crazy that sounds to me, right?"

"Well… yeah. I guess. I mean, your world is kind of boring in comparison," Calypso said. Rather matter-of-factly.

"…thanks. Look, you said you couldn't send me back to my world the way I came."

"Yeah…" she looked sad again.

"And there's really, zero percent, absolutely no way I can get home again?" I hated how small my voice got at the end there. And… I was afraid to ask. I really was. But there might be chance, possibly. Any chance.

Calypso was quiet for a while. Enough that my throat closed up and my eyes stung again. But after a long minute, she stirred.

"What I said was true. You _can't _go back, not the way you came," she said, and there were the tears again—"But!" she hastily continued, "I mean, it's theoretical, but if you find a portal in the world you're in now… you might be able to ride it directly from here to there. Sort of bypass the in-between where I am. Well. It'd be tough, I'd have to sort of… reroute before you landed properly, but if the inter-reality momentum carried you through…"

"So I could go home again?" I asked, and a little spark of hope flickered back to life.

"Weeeellll you _theoretically _could. I've never done anything like it before. I mean, are you sure you wouldn't rather hang out in this world…?"

"Hell no!"

"Aw…"

"Look," I said, "There's the cool bits, but there's also the bits, you know, that involve actual murderous pirates? And corrupt Marines? And, god, the shitty government? World Nobles?" I shuddered at the thought alone. "My world isn't perfect, but this one sure isn't either."

"I guess you're right," Calypso muttered, "Looks cool to me though. I can't actually go anywhere myself…"

"So let's find a portal! Can you make one right now? Can we try it out?" I interrupted, too excited by the prospect to talk about anything else; Calypso frowned in response, tapping her fingers together again.

"That's… I can't just… open a portal like that."

"…what."

"See, there's a few different kinds. Like, there's my water mirrors like this," she said, making a wide gesturing motion between us, "But the other kinds I don't actually create myself. They're just… there. They make themselves. Every world has them, and I'm supposed to keep watch over them all. Sometimes things just find their way to me on the currents, and sometimes I can send little things through, but… only barely."

Okay, deep breath. "Where exactly do I find the closest portal, then?" I deadpanned, and I swear, if she could look even more sheepish…

"Um, I don't know." Wow. I could really use an aspirin right now. "I mean, it's really hard to see where they are. These things are sunk in the fabrics of reality; there's no telling where they might pop up. They close themselves up a lot, too. Usually, you can find them where the currents of the world are converging."

That sounded… kind of interesting, actually. "Currents?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah. Part of the goddess of seas thing. Everything follows currents, even reality. Just like with the actual oceans, there is a point where everything meets and flows together. They can be places of certain significance, or where the world barrier is rubbing up against another dimension and is a bit thin. Or they just show up wherever. It depends, really."

After a solid face palm, I took another calming breath and laid out the facts in my head.

"…Okay, so basically, I need to find a portal," I said slowly, "And said portal could be absolutely anywhere in the world."

"Yep!"

"If I find the portal, I can go home. However, I'm currently stuck on a rock in the middle of the East Blue."

"Yeah…"

"And how exactly am I supposed to _leave_ this rock to find a portal in the first place?"

….Silence.

"Weeellll… " said Calypso, drawing out her syllables again, "What if you tried eating the devil fruit?"

"No." I didn't even need to pause on that, and she looked a little put out.

"What? Why not? It might be useful."

"Look, I don't know about you but I really like being able to swim. And seeing as how that _thing _is an established devil fruit… why would I want to trade off that in a world that's mostly made up of ocean? That I'm _surrounded_ by, I might add?"

"But—"

"Besides, what do I do when I make it home and have to explain why I suddenly can sprout needles out of my skin or shape-shift into a wombat or something? Along with the 'can't swim suddenly' thing?" Not even worth it. I crossed my arms and shot a glare over my shoulder at the thing.

"Oh! Actually, that wouldn't be a problem." Huh? Calypso seemed proud, all of a sudden. "Still a little theoretical, but devil fruits are something that only exist in _this _reality. So if you left and were torn back out, the fruit would just leave and come back so it can be passed on again. They've got a mind of their own that way."

"Wait, really?" That was… convenient.

"Soooo… you might as well try it out," she said, with a twinkle in her eye that I didn't really care for. "I messed with causality a bit to get that to show up here. If it worked the way I wanted, it'll get you an _in_… some common ground... a point of interest, if you would. If you know what I mean, heheh." 

I did not know what she meant, and decided not to go there." 

"The not able to swim thing still stands," I pointed out; despite myself, I gazed back over my shoulder again a little uneasily.

"Yeah, well. I guess you can do what you want. But swimming doesn't help you out here _anyway… _and I _did _say every heroine should have their own cool superpower…"

"Right, right, I get it. I'll… think about it, okay?"

That being said I rocked back on my feet and stared thoughtfully out over the horizon. Nothing but endless blue and white clouds as far as the eye could see. Believe it or not, this was the East Blue. And I was in it. I was in _One Piece. _But… I didn't have to be stuck here, after all.

"Do you really think I could make it home?" I asked, very aware of how small my voice sounded, and that was when Calypso's face zoomed in close as she leaned directly into the mirror.

"Yes. You will," she said firmly, "This is all my fault, in the end. I should have been paying attention. I'll help you every step of the way, and you _will _get back home in the end, you hear me? We can do this together!"  
I had every right to still be pissed at her, but at her determined face… I couldn't help but smile for the first time since the start of this whole mess.

"…I'm still stuck on this island," I said, and Calypso winced.

"Yeahh, I can't help with that. You could try the de—"

"_No."_

"Right! Well, just wait for a ship to show up, I guess. Or swim. I dunno." Welp, there went the warm and fuzzy feelings. "Anyway, I've got to get back, but I promise I'll start looking though my mirrors and stuff for any good portals!"

"Hey, wait—"

"I'll check up again later! Good luck!" and with a cheery wave— never mind she'd been sobbing her eyes out minutes ago—the water clouded up and was just another part of the ocean.

"Great," I muttered, but got on my feet again, wincing as my legs stretched free from my crouching.

So. I was still sort of stuck on this stupid island. In order to leave this world I had to find another portal, but that required actually going places. Who knew how long before anyone came near this stretch of the ocean? And given the world, if they'd even be friendly?

But the feeling was there. That tiny piece of hope that somehow, I'd be able to get home. I'd be able to see my family, friends again. Things weren't entirely hopeless.

I could get through this.

…assuming I found a way off this island.

I trudged up across the rocks and to the trees again, kicking up sand as I went. Shoes would be nice, I thought absently. And a fresh set of clothes in general. I still hadn't gotten any of the other breadfruits to fall; and man, was I starving.

There was the devil fruit on the other hand, still sitting innocently where it had fallen… no. Nope, no, not going there. Even if Calypso said eating it wouldn't be permanent when I went back to my world. Even if, technically, eating it would give me a leg up on this world as a whole… Oh, man. I was actually considering it now. I flopped back down in the shade, next to the fruit. Zoan, Paramecia, Logia… and of each of those categories, near endless possibilities. I could probably discount any of the in-manga fruits that had shown up; I sure wouldn't be getting the Gum-Gum fruit, that's for sure. Oh... assuming the OP storyline was actually running as I knew it. That was a scary thought; it could that be none of the events I was familiar with were happening, or were even going to happen. Had happened already. I could be back in Roger's time, or even further. No guarantee that the Straw Hat pirates were even out there right now.

But if they were... gosh, the Straw Hat pirates might actually be out there, this very second. Existing. Getting into whatever mess they 'd gotten into in the books. Calypso _did _as this world was 'as written...' If I met them would they help me out…? Nah. Probably I shouldn't think of that too much. I definitely wasn't anything special, not anything that would prompt Luffy into inviting me to the crew. _If_ we even met in the first place.

That still left a world of pirates and Marines out there, and it reminded me that the world was _dangerous _for the average civilian. To find my portal, I'd have to actively search for it, and given the size of the oceans around here, my best bet would be to travel by ship. Maybe join a pirate crew. Or the Marines. If I ate the fruit, It'd give me a leg up above over the competition…

With a frustrated groan I fell back on the sand and stared at the treetops, because I was _considering it. _The option was _right there _in front of my face, the one-in-a-million chance that people all over this world would literally kill for. I saw back up and swiveled around to the fruit, cautiously leaning forward… and picking it up.

It felt like what you'd expect a breadfruit to feel like. Not particularly heavy or anything. But the sole appearance of the lines was what set it apart from the rest still clustered about up above. More likely than not, this thing was a paramecia-type fruit, which mean… well, it could be anything. It literally could be a fruit that gave me the ability to tell nothing but really bad jokes.

"Zoan would be nice," I mused . More specifically a bird model. Then I could fly right out of here. Too bad there wasn't some sort of… way to tell. Without eating it. Ugh. This sucked; I could potentially be on this island for days. Maybe if I was lucky, a ship _would _pass by and notice me. But I couldn't conceivably swim out into the open ocean on my own.

Pros of eating fruit: Get a neat power. Get a particularly useful power that could help get me off the island. Have a way to defend myself against ill-meaning strangers

Cons: Lose ability to swim. Get a crap power. Be forced to wait on the island anyway. Actually, maybe having a power either way could be a pro. Ultimately the power of a devil fruit was all up to the imagination of the user, right? Not that I could see the ultimate bad joke as an offensive move.

Was I _seriously _going to eat this fruit? I mean, this was the ultimate dream of many One Piece readers, and all sorts of self-inserts and OC stories that I'd read had their characters busting out with awesome powers right from the get-go. But they weren't actually here, in the moment, with uncertainty staring them in the face. Not to mention the whole swimming thing.

_But it wouldn't be permanent if I found a way back to my world…_

Blink. Another blink. Eating it _would _give me an edge. Make me valuable to whatever potential crew I found myself with. Or, if I went solo, gave me something to protect myself with. But at the cost of weakness to water in a world made up of mostly ocean…?

…I think I'd made up my mind a long time ago. The curiosity was burning a hole in my stomach, and if the hands that held the fruit were trembling ever so slightly… well.

I set the devil fruit back on the ground, and with my fingernails, I started prying at the pebbly green skin that covered it. The stuff was tough; I had to struggle a bit peeling back the skin enough to get at the pale, stringy flesh of the actual fruit underneath. I gouged a chunk out and eyed it; according to lore, only one piece (ha) was actually necessary to gain its power. But was putting it in my mouth good enough, or would I have to swallow it? I thought about every time in the books when characters expressed just how disgusting the fruits tasted. Like rotten stuff… urgh. It _smelled _okay.

_No going back after this._

I shoved the piece in my mouth.

…and nearly spat it out as the most _disgusting _flavor exploded over my tongue. My stomach heaved, bile rose in the back of my throat, and I almost hurled right then and there. It was… it was i_ndescribable. _Soft and slimy and pulpy, all the signs of something that had been left out of the fridge, and gone horribly rotten. I almost choked on it; my stomach did _not _want that thing in there, but I fought—and by god did I fight— all of it back, and swallowed the damn thing.

The taste went all the way down. I broke out in cold sweat, clutching at my stomach, but after a few minutes it faded away.

The lines on the fruit were gone. Gulping for air, wiping my now-dripping forehead, I sat there and tried to feel out just what exactly had happened to me; if there was some sort of sign, or indication of what the fruit had given me…

…yeah, no I wasn't feeling it.

Hm.

How exactly did one find out what devil fruit power they had, anyway? Evidently it did not grant instant innate understanding of its powers. Pulling myself to my feet (more than a little shaky) I looked myself over and gave an experimental pinch to my cheeks. Nothing. I tried to imagine wings, feathers sprouting out my arms or shoulders, then paws, hooves, horns, anything... Nope. Maybe not a Zoan, then. Shoot.

I _did _feel a little warm, but that was probably just the sun. Great, so I really didn't have any way to tell the kind of devil fruit I had eaten, and I didn't know how to trigger it. Just great. What a mess this all was; dumped in the middle of nowhere, marooned on a godforsaken island—without the rum— and stuck here for who knew how long. The next time Calypso rang I'd probably be a dried out corpse.

Stupid stupid _stupid. _Stupid Calypso. Stupid riptides, stupid portals, stupid alternate world, stupid East Blue. Stupid trees. Stupid breadfruit. And most of all, stupid me for eating a stupid _devil fruit!_

There was pressure building in my head, growing by the second out of pure frustration at my circumstances. I heard a whistling but ignored it, as it probably was just the sound of how royally pissed off I was. There were the remains of the devil fruit, right on the ground. It was the perfect thing to vent at, and in a snap-second decision I swung a wild, angry kick at the thing with the intention of punting right into the water.

I missed. By a mile. I was so angry my apparent eye-foot coordination was shot, and my leg was aiming straight for a breadfruit tree. There wasn't time to stop and even in my rage I inwardly winced at the oncoming bruise to my poor shin as it slammed directly into the very solid trunk-

And exploded.

My _leg. _NOT the tree.

I screamed as my body _flew _backwards in an explosion of white and a violent hissing, propelled backwards by the sudden force as I hit the sand _hard. _I scrambled back as soon as I came to a stop, wildly looking around to find that I'd been pushed a good few feet away from the tree, judging by the furrow I'd left behind.

But my leg was okay. It was whole and all in one piece, untouched by impact with the tree and by the explosion. It didn't even sting.

My mouth was hanging open, I thought. I was a little bit in shock. Who wouldn't be? I'd just seen my _leg blow off. _But it was okay. It was back, and I was okay, and _holy shit._ I could feel my heart hammering double time, and a certain set of alarm bells was ringing in my head. With trembling hands I touched my leg, felt the solid skin, muscle and bone shift, but I knew what I'd seen. And there was only one word that explained it.

"Logia," I breathed, because what else could that be? Breaking apart like nothing and reforming again—that was a characteristic of a damn _Logia._ I'd been launched backwards though… had it really been an explosion though? It's not like I had the Boom-Boom fruit seeing as how that was already taken, and that was a Paramecia. Mr. 5's body parts didn't plain explode and reform, either. And the cloud of white I'd seen… Okay, I knew it wasn't something like the Plume-Plume fruit because that was _also _already spoken for, probably. So what the hell?

My heart hadn't quite calmed down. My body was still reacting in shock to the apparent loss of a limb, but I noticed a certain tightness in my chest that hadn't been there before. It didn't hurt; it felt more like… some kind of building pressure with my anxiety, welling up in some core that was only now noticeable. Was this… something to do with the fruit? More than a little wary I tried to focus on it...

Only for my entire torso to explode in another gout of white. The hissing sound burst into the air— along with my shrill screams, _again, _as I slammed back in the ground from backlash. It wouldn't stop this time, either, and before my eyes a ragged column of white rose into the sky. My arms were still there; I scrabbled at the sand, but dragging myself backwards did absolutely nothing but move the column with it. How could I turn it off? How was I moving without muscles, how was I still breathing if _my lungs weren't even there?_

Abruptly the nearby white was sucked down and my torso was back, reforming in the blink of an eye. I rolled to my feet and stood there panting, eyes darting back and forth as I spread my arms in some attempt to ward back… something.

The sand and rock around me was damp. I could see the darkened patches, already drying under the sun. I thought back to the sound I'd heard, the _hissing. _The shape of the column as it erupted from my body, how quickly it dissipated when isolated. The force that threw me back and kept me there, along with the pressure.

…Steam.

It was steam.

I could turn into steam.

"So," I whispered. Try to reassure myself, in some way. "Steam, so… The Steam-Steam fruit. Huh."

Laugh, or cry? I felt like both, honestly. And even more honestly, the one thought that came to mind was how much of an Smoker knock-off I was.

Ahh, _there _was the hysterical laughter bubbling up. I felt lightheaded. I could feel the laughter building up in my lungs, rising to the surface and bursting out in a release of pressure—

Oh my god, that wasn't laughter coming out of my mouth that was—

_Oh, my god where was the ground?_

It was gone. The ground was gone. No, the ground was a rapidly shrinking surface in a widening pool of blue. And I couldn't see my feet. In blind panic I tried looking at my arms but all I found was a tendril of billowing white _steam. _The same with my legs. My waist. Everything below the neck.

The wind was blowing me away from the island, and I panicked even more which only increased the speed in which the island was rapidly fading into the horizon, leaving me with nothing but a stretch of ocean below.

_I was intangible, _I realized, in the face of sheer dumb hysteria, _if I reform I'm going to die._

Fall in the ocean. Game over. But I couldn't figure out how to change back in the first place. How had this happened, how had I managed to become an entire cloud of steam? And how could I still _see_, not just with my normal field of vision but _all around me?_

At the very least it was thanks to this that I saw the boat. Right there in the water, bobbing along as merrily as could be. If I could make it to that boat, I'd be safe…! Never mind about whatever passenger was currently in it, at the moment I didn't even care as long as I could _make it there. _Somehow this mental thought helped my steam-body change angles enough to rocket downwards. As I went, I could suddenly feel the very edges of my extremities coming back into focus. My arms were reforming right in front of my eyes, reaching out desperately for my lifeline, but at a rapid enough pace that I was frantically aware that I might not make it before I changed all the way back…!

I didn't make it. Just an arms' length away from the boat I hit the water, felt my body snap back together at the first wave, and was treated to the terrifying reality of my decision to eat the devil fruit.

Have you ever gone through sleep paralyses? Waking up after a bad dream, fully aware but unable to move your body? That's what it felt like. Even with the surface a scant inch above, every one of my muscles locked up and refused to move. I couldn't close my eyes, I couldn't breathe; precious air streamed out my mouth, but I didn't have the energy to even close it… not to mention I was sinking just as swiftly as an anchor would. As surely as if I were made of lead.

_So this is what it means for the sea to turn against you._

That was when the hand seized the back of my sodden jacket and _pulled._

For the third damn time in a matter of days, I was coughing and spluttering as a strong arm hauled me out of the water and onto a solid surface. Some of the liquid streaming down my face was probably tears; but hallelujah my body was _working _again. Rolling onto my hands and knees, retching as I went, it took a few solid minutes to recover. When my lungs stopped shuddering, and my stomach saw fit to stop heaving, I occurred to me that I was actually, safely aboard the tiny boat I'd seen from the air.

Whoever the owner was had just saved my life. I had to thank them for that much.

I eased back onto my knees, taking in a grateful gulp of wonderful, wonderful oxygen.

"Thank—" I started, turning to meet my savior and thank them profusely, but on seeing just who had pulled me out of the ocean, I found the words dying in my throat.

There was a brief and awkward silence as we stared at each other. I coughed lightly.

"Um… well. Thank you so, so much," I said, very much resisting the urge to throw myself straight back overboard as I locked eyes with Dracule 'Hawkeye' Mihawk, active member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, "If it's at all possible… could I get a ride to the nearest dock available? I'd really appreciate it."


	3. Chapter 3

Incidentally, Hawkeye Mihawk hadn't actually been close enough to pull me out of the ocean. My crash landing had been just far enough out of reach that he'd had to _actively steer_ his boat over before I sank; this was good for me, of course, but fact was I still alive purely because I'd piqued his curiosity enough to make him go out of his way to satisfy it. Seeing a person materialize out of a cloud of steam and fall screaming into the water would do that. And if I were honest, it was probably better that I hadn't made it all the way because the impression I got was if I had crashed landed _in _the boat things would not have gone as well for me.

Wasn't that just the thing? I'd had my devil fruit power all of, what, not even an hour, and the first person I meet is one that could kill me if he felt like it, logia fruit or not. I mused over this as I shivered, completely drenched through once again, and eyeing the greatest swordsman in the world.

By the way, I hadn't actually heard him speak yet. On being hauled out of the water, and being so shocked as to have the audacity to ask for a ride, Mihawk had stared for a full minute before— get this— smirking, and settling back down on his weird, built-in throne in the middle of the boat.

I think that meant yes. Maybe. Hopefully.

Now he was just sitting with arms crossed, eyes closed, seemingly ignoring me; I knew better, of course. Not that I was planning on trying anything. Anyhow, right now things were a little awkward. He was there on his… throne-thing, while I still huddled at the front of the boat. Below him. Dripping water over the floor. Er, deck. What was the front of a boat called? The… the hull. No, the bow. Geez. Clearly I'd need to brush up my terminology if I didn't want to sound like the total boat noob that I was.

Had Calypso set this up? Had she known that I was in waters currently being patrolled by a warlord of the sea? Oh god, she'd even said he was her favorite character. Was she even thinking that far ahead, did she assume I'd run into him eventually? Did she hope he'd help me from being marooned on a rock in the middle of the ocean? Dangerously presumptive of her, considering. How far had I gone in steam-form anyway?

…Mihawk was still ignoring me. And the coffin-like boat was still moving steadily forward, which… didn't make sense, actually. The sole sail was up, and as of now it wasn't terribly windy... I didn't see a steering wheel; presumably there was a rudder, but no stick to manipulate it with, as I subtly peered around back. I mean, there wasn't any sort of cabin either. How did he steer this thing beyond wind power? How were we _moving? _At a decent clip, too. What did he do when the waves weren't flat and peaceful like they were now? Were the torches at the corners always lit? What if it rained? That hat wouldn't hold back _everything—_

"Girl."

I have never snapped to attention as fast as I did as Hawkeye cracked a terrifying yellow eye open and _spoke. _To _me._

"Yes?" I squeaked in a noticeably higher pitch, and wow was my face going red? What was this, getting called out in class?

"…cease that noise. It's vexing."

I took a second to comprehend that.

"Noise?"

…His head tilted in a near imperceptible manner, but the annoyance read as clear as day, which was, ah, terrifying.

"Your ears," he elaborated, "are whistling." I still didn't quite comprehend what he meant by that… until a wisp of white float past my eyes. A wisp of steam, that is. There was even more when I turned my head, and now that he mentioned it, there _was _a shrill sort of ringing in the air I'd assumed was the wind, that sounded a little bit like a kettle going off on the stove—OH.

I clapped my hands to my ears and the small yet steady current of _steam _pouring out from under my hair cut abruptly off.

"I can't believe this," I moaned, "I'm a literal walking teakettle." My god, I couldn't think now without my brand spanking new logia powers acting up? Like this!? What, thinking _so hard _that steam literally gushed from my brain?

Well, the stream had stopped, but now I didn't dare risk taking my hands away in case it started up again. The noise, that is… turns out I couldn't actually do anything about the steam, as both of my tensed arms promptly set off their own columns of billowing white, drifting off into the sky with the slight breeze kicking up over the water.

Oh geez. At least I was still solid. Right now it just looked like I was radiating steam like a wet roof on a hot day and was _this _what life as a Logia was going to be like? How the hell had Ace managed in the beginning?

"Just how long have you been a devil fruit user, girl?" Hawkeye Mihawk again, eyeing me with what I hope was curiosity still. I worked up the nerve to speak to him, hands still firmly fixed on my ears.

"Well. Maybe… about an hour?" I said, a little tentatively seeing as I wasn't sure of the time. "I was on this rock, and there was this breadfruit…"

"…a breadfruit."

"Yeah, pretty much. I didn't think anyone would be coming, and I wasn't sure how I was getting off, so I… I ate it, but then… I turned into this cloud of steam and got blown away, and that's when I crashed landed in the ocean. And, uh. You know the rest?" I winced and shut up, acutely aware that I basically was rambling to a warlord of the sea. Like he cared about my misfortune… is what I thought, and it was with some alarm that I watched Hawkeye Mihawk, after an extended period of silence, break into a series of chuckles.

Yep, he was laughing. Probably at my ridiculous situation. But, _laughing,_ was better than, well, not laughing. Or throwing me back overboard. Normally I might laugh too since it _was_ a ridiculous situation, but not when the other person is _Hawkeye freaking Mihawk._ Eventually the chuckles died down and Mihawk no longer looked annoyed, but rather vaguely amused.

"As it were, I am hunting today," he said, eyes flicking towards somewhere on the horizon. "So long as you do not make a nuisance of yourself, you may stay. Should you carry yourself overboard, however," and he fixed me with a raised eyebrow here, "I will not fish you out again."

Okay, that was fair. Right now I think my entire body was faintly steaming and my hands were still over my ears, but I meekly nodded assent and was still conspicuously aware of my still-drenched clothing.

"Th-thank you very much. I'll stay out of your way, uh… Sir Hawkeye?" People called him that in-comic, right? Well, it wasn't a wrong thing to say as he closed his eyes again, back to dismissive. Hoo boy. I think this conversation took a few years off my life.

After some sounds of waves and a distant seagull or two, I risked cautiously releasing my ears. Luckily, the whistling had stopped. At the very least I'd recognize when it was happening now. Or I should try not thinking so hard...? Well, I suppose I could profusely thank the collective multiverse for not letting me drown an hour in to my existence as a… steam-girl. (Uh, that sounded weird even in my head.) Even if a run in with Dracule Mihawk wasn't exactly my idea of first contact.

Speaking of which. He'd said he was hunting. What, exactly? I frowned; Calypso had said I was in the East Blue, so… thinking back to canon, that meant…? East blue: Luffy's start as a pirate. Various bad guys. Formation of the core membership of the Straw Hat Pirates, and Mihawk's initial appearance as Zoro's established rival at the Baratie, following the appearance of….

Don… Krieg…

Oh. Oh geez. Mihawk was hunting _Don Krieg. _If this really were a world 'as told by Eiichiro Oda' with variations (me) then that placed me firmly after the start of the Baratie arc as a whole, and _before _the battle against the Kreig Pirates. Sanji hadn't been recruited yet. Usopp had just gotten on board. And, more importantly, Zoro hadn't gotten his ass kicked yet. Oh _geez, _this was not the entrance I wanted to make into the main OP plot, assuming I wanted to… get involved… I hadn't really thought about that yet. Well. That was a problem for near future me. Current me still balked at the thought of meeting the actual Monkey D. Luffy himself; I mean, Mihawk straight off the bat?

Given the style in One Piece—stark black and white with minimal amounts of screen tone— seeing the transition from 2-D to real life was incredibly jarring. Like with, well, Hawkeye Mihawk. On paper he was a rather imposingly designed character, but actually here in the flesh… well, it was weird. Clearly, it was Hawkeye Mihawk, I really couldn't see him as anyone else; except now he was textured. All fleshed out. With a covert look I could see individual strands of his hair blown with the wind, and faint age lines on his face. And the eyes—hey, you don't know how terrifying they are until you see them in _person. _His coat sure wasn't new; it had a fair amount of wear from constant travel I'm sure, and his boots were well traveled. Plus, there was the muscle definition.

…Heh. Heheh. Okay. This was a relatively dangerous path to go down. But, really, anyone else in my position probably couldn't help but… _admire… _the chiseled abs peeking out underneath his crossed arms. I mean, the man wasn't wearing a _shirt. _The world's greatest swordsman was _shredded_. So sue me if I couldn't help but eye them a little appreciatively—

"Is there something you wish to say?" Mihawk spoke up out of the blue in a very, very dry tone of voice. Every nerve in my body froze for approximately three seconds.

"No," I squeaked, because what he could read _minds _now_?_ Oh come _on_, I was _steaming_ again!

Thus that line of thought promptly died a painful, embarrassed death, and I kept my eyes to myself for the rest of the trip.

* * *

Hours passed.

Long, excruciating hours. Perhaps not as comparable to my lonely night on Breadfruit Isle, but when the only other person on board is Hawkeye Mihawk, things can be awfully quiet. I think he napped the whole time. And I wasn't about to wake him up and, to quote, make a nuisance of myself. This was surprisingly hard, seeing as how for a small percentage of that time, parts of me weren't solid.

I was struggling with the Steam-Steam fruit. Thankfully, I didn't go full steam cloud again; the threat of falling in the ocean and getting ditched was more than enough a deterrent, but it did nothing to halt the rampant powers completely. Simply put, I couldn't get a handle on the fruit, like, at _all._

What was the trigger? I had no idea. Was there some way to control which parts of my body burst into steam? Heck, beats me. How exactly could I manipulate the steam I gave off/turned into, seeing as it was now technically _me?_ Basic memory of all the Logia users from the manga did _nothing. _Forget figuring out why my clothes could turn into steam, too. Frankly, it was terrifying. More than once I was treated to fingers, toes, bursting into full-on steam mode, which usually wouldn't change back until I sufficiently panicked enough to force the transition… somehow.

Nothing seemed to react to straight up willpower or concentration, and while if I _really _focused, sometimes I could _maybe _control the total volume of steam I gave off from each stump; but it also might just be the fact that the steam came off differently. Sometimes it was pressurized, shooting out with a gusto that had me hitting the deck and frantically looking to Mihawk, making sure he wasn't taking offence at the slight rocking of the boat. Other times the steam was mellow, billowing from my limbs in a gentle column. Steam had different properties, I was aware; getting those properties to work with me was currently _hell._ Yeah, my ears still whistled whether I liked it or not… at least cutting it off was a practiced motion now.

I mean, realistically speaking, I wasn't getting a grip on my powers with less than a day's practice; it took Luffy _years _to master his fruit effectively, even as a Paramecia. But, right now, it sure would be nice to know that I wouldn't blast myself out of the boat at the drop of a hat.

Really, though… most problematic of all, Steam-Steam fruit aside…. I was freaking starving.

I hadn't really eaten for about a whole day's worth of meals. My last meal had been breakfast back in my own world; the devil fruit did _not _count as a meal. I'd bypassed it before, mostly out of sheer nerves and anxiety pushing everything else on the back burner, but now that I was safely(?) away from the island, I could relax… enough for the stomach pangs to break though.

Overall being on this boat wasn't shaping up to be much fun. Small mercy that the hunger seemed to curb my steam to lower levels. I didn't have the guts to ask Mihawk for food, anyway. I watched the horizon instead. The threat of the plot still loomed over my head, and while I adamantly didn't really want to think about it too much, I wondered how long it would take, exactly, to reach the Baratie. I had no gauge of where we were, exactly. Or how fast we were going. How was this boat moving even…? I was still hung up on that.

There were seagulls, though. So there was landfall or the like _somewhere._

Right now the frequency in which I dissolved was low; maybe that was hunger/general exhaustion at play. I took the chance to lean against the railing, staring out at the horizon. The sun was moving in a steady path across the sky; if I'd crash landed in the early morning, it was approaching a later afternoon now. The sky was bright blue, crossed with the occasional puffy clouds. I watched a lone bird circle above with dead eyes. God, but I hoped it wouldn't take days to get there.

Though not the most comfortable pillow, I rested my cheek to the smooth railing of the boat. I hadn't slept, either. Too cold, wet, and wound up for that. So a nap myself wouldn't be out of order. Maybe by sleeping, I'd stay in default human mode. Or go up in steam. I was just so tired, though…

…my eyelids drooped. The world disappeared in a pleasant haze as they did so. Just for an hour or so….

Ocean spray hit me right in the face. I jerked awake, spluttering out saltwater and cussing out the ocean in general. Apparently I couldn't even _sleep _on this godforsaken stretch of East Blue, how could I have even thought otherwise? Great, just great. Blinking away exhaustion, I slumped against the rail to sulk, feeling insanely jealous of he-who-must-not-be-named snoozing away behind me. Be a gentleman and give me the chair, would you…? Jerk…

With eyes roving the sea, solidly ignoring the warlord, I spaced out… focused on the black dot in the distance… passed it over… Hey _wait a second—!_

I straightened up. There was a black dot in the distance. Small, unassuming, but real. We were headed right for it. It didn't look like land; I squinted, trying to get a clearer look, making out light colors. Were those… sails? A ship? Was it… Don Krieg?

My mouth was dry, but I cleared my throat anyway and looked around.

"Um," I began, feeling trace amounts of steam start up again, "Sir Mihawk… sir. Up ahead…?"

"I see it." Mihawk was wide awake. And his yellow eyes were fixed on the ship in the horizon.

Waves slapped against the boat with new force; the boat had sped up (how? How was it doing that? What, were we hooked up to a Sea King or something…..? Please let that not be it) and inwardly, I panicked. I thought I'd have a little while longer before running smack into plot, but this… this was too fast. Waaay too fast.

After the sighting, the atmosphere changed too. While quiet and struggling with the steam, I'd been bored more than anything. Now I was deathly quiet and hardly daring to breathe as Mihawk went from dismissive company to full alert. It wasn't much a noticeable change; except, my instincts were screaming at me that now, warning me… that I was in the presence of something extremely dangerous. Not that he gave me a glance. There was a change to his stance, though, a tightening in his figure even as he sat, arms crossed, in his seat. He didn't look away from the ship.

The chase was on, and I watched with trepidation as we glided over the waves and gained on the steadily growing ship in the distance. It _was_ a ship; A massive ship. It looked normal from a distance, but as we gained, I could see that something wasn't quite right. The billowing white sails were actually in tatters; the decks were a mess of timbers and jagged splits down the sides. That was just the back. I hadn't read the manga in ages, but hazy memory told me the front wasn't much better.

….I risked a side-eye to Mihawk. Approximately how much of it was him? Ultimately the Krieg Pirates were driven away by a storm… but not before he _sank _most of a fifty-ship armada.

Geez, Don Krieg wasn't exactly a saint but… just, the poor bastards. What did they _do _to piss him off that much? Suckers of the universe. They didn't even know that he was still bearing down on them by the minute, intent on paying back the insult in full… Oh gosh, so what about me? The man who'd destroyed Krieg's full fleet, bent on destroying the very last ship available, and suddenly he shows up with a person with him? Oh geez, oh geez what would they think of me? Because I wasn't associated with him. At all. I would be the worst person to take captive if they felt like it. Hopefully they'd be too preoccupied with the shock of Mihawk showing up to actually pay attention to me.

We'd almost reached them, too. The ship had stopped; as it were, I couldn't see the Baratie from our vantage point, and it _must _be here seeing as there was no other reason that the Krieg Pirates would stop. I felt my hands curl into fists, wrapping over clammy palms. The air had gotten _heavy, _charged with some invisible energy the closer and closer we came.

Mihawk was reaching for his sword.

I couldn't begin to describe the mix of emotions running through me right now. On one hand, he was reaching for Yoru itself, which I might add, was indeed _massive. _Sheathed across his back, I hadn't really gotten the chance to get a good look at it; there was only the grip and crosspiece, and the edges of the black blade itself…

I was in a hell of a situation. Not many people, even for One Piece, could claim to know just what I was about to witness up close and personal. The heaviness to the air… was it haki? Was this stifling atmosphere a gathering of haki as he readied for a strike? Or just a testament of skill alone, commanded by the world's greatest swordsman? Between the looming bulk of the Krieg flagship, and a single man, an irrational side of me almost wanted to take my chances with Krieg.

Then we crossed into the shadow of the galleon.

"Down."

A single command. Mihawk hadn't even stood up. I still hit the deck like a ton of bricks, and just so as a breeze tickled the back of my neck. There was no sound, no indication of movement beyond a slight rocking of the boat and creak of wood. Curled up into the smallest ball I could manage, I blinked and lifted my arms away from my head, wondering if he'd actually done anything yet or if he just wanted me out of the way in prepara—

Yoru hung in the air directly above, casting a thin shadow over my body and across the railing.

To my credit, I didn't make a sound. Sure, my moth dropped, pupils dilated and I think I didn't breathe for a second there; I hadn't even heard him _move._ He wasn't even leaning forward in his seat. And yet there it was, the black blade itself, poised in his one-handed grip and pointed directly towards the bulk of the galleon in front of us.

How strong did you have to be to hold that position? To even hold that blade? To move so efficiently as to not even make a sound or sign of the swing at all? And he _had _swung, for even as Mihawk lifted the blade and returned it to its resting position on his back— all in a single fluid motion without a hint of stress— the creaking began. A series of pops and groans, snapping rope and tearing canvas… and yet, not a sound of splintering wood.

The massive galleon fell cleanly apart, separated by edges cut as smoothly as a hot knife through a stick of butter. There came a swell of waves from the sudden displacement; I gripped the rails as we crested a particularly large one, but the water itself held no trace of any slash at all. Hawkeye Mihawk had cut exactly what he wanted to. Nothing more, and nothing less.

It was terrifying. And it was incredible. Equally mixed with fear was simple awe at the display of power and skill. No one from my world was capable of this, or any degree close to this. It was a power reserved for this world, and this world alone.

And to think someone like this had straight-up wandered into the East Blue, holy shit. Anyway. I guess now would be a good time to pay attention to the terrified screams rising up from various places around the ship. Cruising right up through the center of the wreckage, we had finally reached the Baratie. I'd made it. I was here.

I'd reached the plot.

"You… monster!"

I jumped. There were people in the wreckage of the galleon. After the initial strike, it'd proceeded to split apart further under its own weight, but now I could see people still clinging on the various surfaces they had. No, not people… Pirates. One of which whom was standing, obviously shaking in his boots as the boat glided forward, but too pissed off to care.

"Why are you still following us? We never did _anything_ to you!" he shrieked; debatable. Funnily, Mihawk seemed to give the question some serious thought. Then—

"For fun."

Welp.

"For _fun?"_ the pirate didn't seem to think much of this answer, as he threw his hands down and— whipped out a pair of guns.

_Bang._

"Oh, geez…!" I hit the deck again. He was firing on us! Mihawk didn't even break a sweat, though. Instead he rolled his eyes and _drew Yoru. _Another fluid motion; to my eye it seemed as if he'd simply drawn and now held it threateningly to the side, hanging the blade over the water, but with two loud cracks, splinters flew as a deck/wall/whatever found itself embedded with a pair of bullets. I hadn't even seen them fly by.

…this place wasn't very good for my heart. Well, theoretically… bullets wouldn't hurt me… right? But who'd actually test it out in a situation like this? I sure as hell wasn't going to risk it _now._

"He missed!?" A murmur rose from the collective group of pirates. Disbelieving whispers, uneasy stares. To my horror, I picked up a few of a different nature.

"Hey, wait, who's that with him?"

"Don't remember seeing her before."

"Who's that, his woman?"

Um, first, just… no. Second… shoot, I _had _been noticed. Which wasn't that hard, considering I was basically front and center. I could already feel uneasy pressure building in my chest in response, and I unconsciously pressed a fist over my heart. Praying that I wouldn't go up in steam. Now really wasn't the best time.

"Don't bother shooting at him. No matter how many times you try, you'll just keep missing."

A voice rose from the whispering. Loud and clear, projecting across the space that separated Mihawk's ship from the rest of the wreckage. It was a young voice; calm, but assured, and that was when I first laid eyes on Roronoa Zoro.

That is, Pirate Hunter Zoro in the flesh. The first real member of the Straw Hat Pirates I could see. He was standing on a piece of deck with the fortune of lying flat in the water. He was staring at Mihawk.

"You changed the path of the bullets with only a sword," he breathed, and even from this distance I could see how his eyes were shining, the flash of teeth in a fierce grin. "I've never seen such subtle blade work before."

Mihawk's attention shifted to this new distraction. His expression didn't exactly change.

"Without subtlety," he intoned, "A sword is but an iron bar." That said, Yoru returned to his back, again. How was he managing to maneuver it like that? Even up close I couldn't get a good look.

"Magnificent…" I could recognize the awe in Zoro's face. Only… with it came the dread. My dread. At the direction I knew this was taking. Just as it was with Mihawk, seeing a previously 2D illustration standing in front of me as living, breathing person? There was no way to put it in words. It's one thing to see Pirate Hunter Zoro on page, but another thing entirely when you can see down to the smallest detail of the wrappings of his swords. The way he stood, how his posture was settling… how his hand rested on the hilt of Kuina's blade. The tan to his skin. The bead of sweat slowly rolling down his cheek.

…and he looked so dang young. Only two or three years younger than me, really, but again; it seemed in real life, the ambiguous manga age line was drawn a little more clearly, no matter how much muscle tone he might have.

"I've been looking for you, for a long time." He tugged a black bandanna from around his bicep free. Zoro hadn't drawn a blade yet, but he did tie the bandanna around his forehead, throwing shadow over his eyes. He looked positively vicious then, still sporting that g_rin, _and I shivered. Nothing compared to Mihawk, of course, but still intimidating as all heck.

"What would you want from me?" Mihawk still was supremely bored, but Zoro wasn't letting it get to him.

"To be the greatest," he replied, and then he _did _draw his sword. Pointed it straight across the water in clear challenge. "Looking for some _real _fun? Then fight _me."_

The wind died. All was deathly quiet. Everyone was waiting for the inevitable throw-down between swordsmen; the greatest swordsman, versus Pirate Hunter Zoro, coming to a head in the East Blue. So naturally, Mihawk had to ruin the moment by addressing _me._

"Girl."

All this flinching was going to make me a nervous wreck. I'd fallen for the tense atmosphere too, and a bout of steam from underneath my hair betrayed my nerves. I heard a couple of gasps from the onlookers.

"Sir?" My voice fell awkwardly short in the silence.

"You may disembark here."

…..Right. Okay. I'd expected this. But… thanks for _nothing, _as every single pair of eyes promptly fixed on _me. _I eyed the gap between the boat and the nearest chunk of deck to us. It was within easy jumping distance. But now I felt the acute scrutiny of dozens of pirates, sizing me up. It also was where Zoro stood waiting.

Noooo pressure. Thanks, asshole.

Well. Nothing doing. I took a deep breath and forced myself to stand. My legs protested a bit, slightly cramped from the hours of sitting, and I wobbled thanks to that and the movement of the water beneath my feet. I waited a moment, then braced a foot against the railing. Yeah, I could do this. Literally the easiest jump in the history of anything. Just a jump.

A wave hit. The deck rolled beneath me, and I pitched forward.

"Ah, _shit!"_

Careening forward, my arms windmilled around in an attempt to restore balance. I frantically pushed off, put a little too much power into my legs, overcompensated, and went forward in a flying leap. I made the jump, alright, but basically ended up belly flopping onto dry land with a solid _thunk. _There were several hisses and at least one pirate let off a sympathetic _oooooh._

Someone was laughing hysterically. That better not be who I thought it was. I struggled to get my breath back, gritted my teeth, and hauled myself back up. Of _course _the Steam-Steam fruit wouldn't kick in when I actually could have used it. Just great. Even worse, I'd crashed right at Roronoa Zoro's feet, and if that wasn't a great first impression—at least I didn't fall in the water again, right when my clothes were finally dry, _again_. With some humiliation I noticed he didn't even spare me a glance, still focused on Mihawk as he was.

The world's greatest swordsman was a jerk for putting me in this situation, but seeing as how I'd gotten this far at all, I sucked up my pride, turned smartly on my heels and gave the man my best bow from the waist; an awkward bob, really, but the best I could muster.

"Thank you very much for saving me," I called. I _think, _it was hard to tell, that he gave me the tiniest of nods. When it came to the warlords of the sea, politeness was probably better safe than sorry. At least I was free of him now. Of course, I hadn't the faintest idea what to do now… well, there was one thing.

"Hey." Roronoa Zoro's eyes flickered over to where I was addressing. "Good luck," I said solemnly. He sure would need it.

And now I was getting the heck out of here because Dracule 'Hawkeye' Mihawk was currently standing up and if there was a place I didn't want to be, in all of the Blues, it was here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There sure are a lot of shirtless, shredded men in One Piece, really.


	4. Chapter 4

Hiking across the splintered, pirate-strewn mess of what used to be galleon after making my grand entrance with the swordsman who'd caused it all in the first place went about as _well as you would expect it to._

Zoro basically flat ignored me (a swordsman thing apparently), as I turned heel and started jogging away, feeling little puffs of steam rise up from where my bare feet hit open deck. Splinters were a real danger, here… As were pirates. I made it about five feet towards the Baratie— which, laying in front of me in all its fish-headed glory, was hilarious in real life— when a hook nosed, greasy haired, water logged specimen of a Krieg pirate blocked my path, wielding a cutlass as curved and glinting as the ugly leer spreading across his face.

"Just where d'ya think _yer _going, girly?" he sneered in a nasal pitch; highly stereotypical. It wouldn't have been out of place in any average pirate movie. Also incredibly intimidating. I'm sure there were several reactions I could have gone with, considering there was a sharp weapon currently brandished at _me; _but, look, how many times do you realistically think about reacting to an _actual pirate _in your face? Obviously, there's only one way to reasonably react to the unrealistic: By taking things at face value.

"That way," I said, pointing over his shoulder to the Baratie. He blinked, momentarily caught off guard by my deadpan answer.

"W-Well… ya think I'm about to just let you walk on over there?" said the pirate, more than a little incredulously. I looked at the Baratie, then him, and thought the equation through.

"No," I said. The sickening grin came back.

"That's what I thought," he said, "And if you think yer gettin' off free and clear after sailin' in wit _that _monster, then ye've got another—!"

I ducked under the outstretched cutlass and ran for it. A highly offended "_Oi!" _rose up behind me, but I didn't feel the least sorry for taking advantage of his villainous monologue. Being genre-savvy had to have _some _worth around here. Without bothering to see his next action I focused solidly on my end goal instead: Safety, and the Baratie. Where a row of extremely familiar figures were waiting. That is to say… a certain cook, a certain sniper, and a certain straw-hatted pirate currently, waving at me, one foot up on the railings as if ready to hop over any given moment. Yep. Monkey D. Luffy in the flesh.

The details weren't something sweat over right now though because a shifting deck and outraged shout were a little more important right now. Mr. Greasy Pirate was running after me, absolutely livid.

"You getcher self back here right now, wench!"

"Up yours!" I yelled back, and for a starvation victim he was really booking it oh geez. The deck was splintered in smaller portions, forcing me to slow down in fear of losing my balance and rolling into the ocean; the pirate didn't have those same reservations and was catching up in literal leaps and bounds, gaining even with my surprise head start…

"Hey! Here!" a shout, made with a young and giddy voice. Oh man, that was _Luffy's _voice. He was bracing himself on the railings still, clutching his bicep with one hand as the opposite arm drew back in an odd, circular motion…? "Gum-gum…"

A fist shot past my cheek. The breeze whistled as it went by, and… kept going. I twisted around, gaping, just in time to see it smash into the pirate's jaw with a meaty _smack. _His eyes rolled up, a few small white objects (teeth!?) propelled out of his mouth. Then he dropped like a ton of bricks. One hit, KO. Meanwhile, I snagged my foot on a piece of debris and hit the deck in the more literal way… _again. _Naturally my steam-body did not help me here. What the hell was logia fruit even good for, anyway? At least the Krieg pirate was out cold, putting me out of any immediate danger (then again there was the ocean about a foot away) and such it was that I didn't see the impossibly stretchy hand coming back for a second run until it was right over my shoulder. And grabbing the back of my jacket.

For a brief second, I thought maybe I'd dissolved again, off into the wind, but, no, I could still see my body there in front of me as I moved rapidly backwards. Except, wait, with this momentum how was I supposed to stop?

Hint: I didn't.

…And the logia fruit finally made itself useful as I sailed over the rails of the Baratie and smashed headlong into the wall. I saw white for a split second, then found myself staring dazedly up at the clear blue sky, pillars of steam rising billowing up into my field of vision. Well then. Chalk one up for logia fruit; able to mitigate blunt force trauma because otherwise I'm pretty sure my spine wouldn't have survived that one. Dang it, Luffy, were you even thinking that jacket grab through? I sat up, grateful but somewhat annoyed (and ready to say as much) but instead I got an eyeful of assorted pirates and cooks all in various stages of shock and one Monkey D. Luffy looking at me as if his straw hat had just been set on fire in front of him. No one was saying anything. I shifted a little, opened my mouth to give a little Hey What Gives— but Luffy beat me to it, and several things happened at once.

"I EXPLODED HER!" He screamed, hands slapping against his face in horror.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?" The Baratie cooks more or less screamed in different variations, and a very particular chef aka Sanji himself launched a devastating roundhouse with a scream of his own.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER, SHITTY PIRATE?" The kick was a direct hit; Luffy took the blow and smashed into the deck.

"Uh," I said, as he staggered up with a dazed expression. Everyone flinched at the sound of my voice. Someone else took it a step further.

"Aaaaa! It's a ghost, and it's speaking to us!" Usopp screamed, cowering away and I was getting a little sick of all the screaming around here.

"Dude," I said, sticking my hands on my hips, "I'm not a ghost. It's just a little steam, chill out."

"Girly," said a much calmer, and considerably dryer tone of voice somewhere behind me, "You're a bit more than a little steam at the moment."

"What—" I started, turning around to see _Chef Zeff_ in the flesh, peg leg and all. His hat really was several feet tall. As I went momentarily silent from the shock, ol' Red Leg gave me an unamused look and a meaningful nod; I looked down. My feet were gone. As were my legs, and… pretty much everything else, save for the billowing clouds of white where everything should have been. Currently, I was a talking cloud of steam. That explained everyone's reactions.

"Oh, come on!" I groaned, slapping a hand to my face— or at least the equivalent area of. "I don't pay attention for _one _second and it all goes up in, uh. Steam."

Making smoke puns seemed oddly taboo now. I swiveled back around in some kind of odd circular motion, because I wasn't corporeal to turn on my heels and was now aware of myself enough that spinning as a solid mass felt _uncomfortable. _A crowd of chefs flinched again as the sides of me billowed out, but I ignored them in favor of pirates of more importance.

As Monkey D. Luffy shook his head back in forth in a dazed manner, I found myself speechless again, because, well. This was Luffy. _Luffy. _A main character of the manga I'd been reading since I was a kid, and even if I wasn't as steady a reader years later, I still remembered _Luffy _when One Piece came up in casual conversation. And now he was here. In front of me. From where he'd been round housed into the deck by an overeager Sanji.

"Are… you okay?" I asked, fidgeting in place and feeling awkward. What should I say? How should I act? What would he think of me? Luffy just adjusted his hat and blinked at me.

"So I _didn't _explode you?" he asked, face scrunched up in confusion. I stared at him.

"Uh, no," I said. His frown went away and turned into a bright, relieved smile.

"Oh, good!" he said cheerfully, "You went _poof _and I was really worried because I've never exploded anyone before!"

I felt the sudden urge to face palm again, but resisted.

"No, no, I'm just like this," I deadpanned, "Basically I ate a devil fruit this morning and now I'm made of steam, apparently." Murmurs broke out from the background characters, which included… hey, Johnny and Yosaku the bounty hunters. That's right, they're been getting ready to chase after Nami in their ship before Mihawk crashed the party. As well as Usopp, who wasn't quite so pale now that I wasn't a ghost.

"Wait, so… you're a devil fruit user, too?" That was Usopp speaking now, scratching his head as he looked at me.

"Yep."

"Two devil fruit users in a week… I knew things would be different at sea, but this is just—"

"M-Miss steam cloud!" He was interrupted by Sanji, of all people, though maybe that wasn't a surprise. He'd shoved his way over, gone down on one knee and was giving me an uncomfortably beaming expression. I could almost see the metaphorical heart eye that would've been there on paper.

"I'm so relieved to hear your voice," he babbled, "For a moment I'd thought this _brute _had done you harm—"

"Oh, you mean me?"

"—but it seems you're all right! Rest assured, if he tries anything again—" A glare at Luffy, who remained unperturbed, "—I will keep you safe myself, miss…?" he trailed off, leaving an expectant silence. It took me a moment to parse the sentence through the flirting.

"Oh. Uh," I said, struggling to reign something of my body in, "Right. It's—"

Before I could share my name, something clicked just right in my struggles and my body resoponed. The clouds shrunk in on themselves, condensing into limbs and I watched as my actual physical figure reformed itself. It only took a matter of seconds. First I was nothing but steam, and then just as quickly I was myself again. Not a single whisp was out of place. "Huh," I muttered, turning my hands around to inspect them, "I need to figure out how to do that more reliably. Anyway," I looked back up to Sanji, Luffy, the others who stared back in surprise, "I'm Kirsten. Nice to meet you, I guess."

A beat. Then—

"Kirsten… Kirsten-chan! A beautiful, melodic name for a beautiful, melodic lady!" Sanji exclaimed, aaaaand now this was weird. First, had he actually just… unironically given me the -chan trailer? I mean, this was Sanji, but the surprise Japanese was sort of a whiplash. I also gave myself a dubious once over, noting salt encrusted clothes, bare feet, and the fact I hadn't slept or showered for over 24 hours.

"…You sure look at things through rose colored glasses, huh?" I said dryly, and several persons around us smothered back laughter.

"What? No, clearly you're just a well-traveled woman—" he protested, back on two feet, but Luffy interrupted him by suddenly crowding into my personal space.

"Kirsten! That was really cool! Do it again!" said Luffy, eyes sparkling.

"Sorry, what?" I said, confused.

"The smoke thing! You were just," he made strange motions with his hands that maybe represented steam-me, "And then you just poofed back! That was so cool!"

"What— Buddy, unless you're up for throwing me into the wall again, I'd rather stay solid for now."

…Worryingly, Luffy gave me a look that suggested he was thinking about it.

"Don't you dare—" Sanji started, murder in his eye, but everyone flinched when the voice of an annoyed Zoro carried through the air.

"Are you guys _done _yet?" He was looking over from the decks. Across from him, Mihawk stood still, arms crossed. He seemed bored. Whoops. I'd completely forgotten about an entire duel about to start, but they were just standing there? Zoro seemed ready to go— two of his swords were drawn now as he turned back to his opponent. "Hey. She's out of the way now."

Mihawk made no sound, but his arms unfolded. He reached for a certain cross shaped pendant around his neck.

"Wait, were they… waiting for me?" I asked, stunned from the possibility that they'd actually delayed on my account. With the looming duel now at hand, Luffy's mood sobered, enthusiasm about my powers forgotten. He turned to watch the fight, but he nodded at me.

"He wouldn't start 'till you made it over," he said, and nodded in Mihawk's direction. "Watching out for his nakama… he's not a bad guy!"

Chef Zeff made a very loud, ill-concealed snort.

"I, uh, wouldn't say that to his face, maybe," I said, a little half-heartedly seeing as Luffy's attention was fully on the fight now, but still… I definitely didn't register as 'nakama' of any sort on Hawkeye's radar (and there was something strange again— 'nakama,' Luffy said, not 'crewmate,' or any other variation thereof) but it seemed that my earlier manners weren't misplaced after all. Or maybe he just didn't want a bystander in the middle of it all. Well, I was grateful either way. I wouldn't want to be in the middle of this fight either, and with some hesitance I stood on the deck of the Baratie, watching as Mihawk brandished a very small knife in Zoro's general direction.

…This was history in the making, after all. Zoro didn't need the distraction, for all the good it would do for him. He was angry—I could tell from here how the knife's implication was affecting him, but by now he had a third sword in his mouth and I couldn't hear what he was saying in response. I _did _see the moment Roronoa Zoro made his first move. His arms rose, blades crossed, and in the blink of an eye he was hurtling forward towards his opponent, who stood utterly impassive even in the direct path of Zoro's lightning quick attack—

_Clang._

A ring of steel. Zoro stopped cold, all three of his blades halted by the point of a single knife held impossibly in their exact intersection. Quiet gasps filtered in the air all around, but Johnny and Yosaku yelled outright. Luffy's eyes went wide. As for me, my hands found the safety rails of the Baratie's deck. The fin hadn't expanded yet; I gripped the bars tightly, knuckles white from the tension.

Paper and ink was one thing, suspension of disbelief and all. But this… this was…

With a growl, Zoro broke free from the stalemate, and broke into a rain of blows. Strike after strike, moving so quickly that each of his swords was only a flicker of silver but Mihawk hardly blinked. He was keeping pace, and if Zoro's swords were a flicker then his arm was a blur from the sheer speed of countering every single attack. Suddenly, a thrust— Zoro went flying back, his own power turned against him in a well-timed disruption. He hit the deck, bystanders both pirates and chefs alike watching in astonishment. Now, I had absolutely zero knowledge on sword play; the most I'd ever learned was with a fencing foil in high school (aka useless knowledge here,) but _this. _This was skill beyond my comprehension. And even with my less than rudimentary understanding, I knew that Zoro was outclassed. _Badly._

Zoro knew, too, from the wild and desperate look in his eye I saw even from where I stood. His chest heaved from the exertion, while Mihawk hadn't even broken a sweat. Rolling back on his feet, Zoro threw himself forward yet again, but he was losing his composure and it showed.

"What drives you?" Mihawk's voice carried, as over the swords themselves it was dead quiet. "What do you seek, with all this ferocity…you, _weakling_ that you are? "

Ouch. The insult galvanized Zoro like nothing else— red faced, nostrils flaring, an attack on his pride rather than his person. Not only him, but Johnny and Yosaku reacted as well, planting their feet on the railing.

"How dare you call him that?" One of them shrieked, "I outta teach you a lesson, you bastard…!" They both made as if to jump the rail and charge in, but Luffy put a stop to it. Hands shot out to grab their clothing, dragging them back to the deck.

"Stop! Don't interfere!" he snapped, "Just stay here!"

I was next to him, though. I could see how he shook from the corner of my eye. He wanted to jump in himself, but couldn't. I felt sick— focusing on the fight, seconds were slipping by and the fight's conclusion was drawing closer. The apprehension was getting to me—and when Zoro was knocked back down once again I winced for different reasons. If things went how I remembered, then he wouldn't throw himself forward as quickly. He'd try something different. He'd raise his swords in a parallel motion, just as he was doing right now, and strike in the blink of an eye _and yet—_

Mihawk's knife buried itself to the hilt in Zoro's chest.

"No…!" Unbidden my hands flew to my mouth, muffling my scream. Luffy went rigid at my side.

Blood fell to the deck in a sickening splatter; Zoro was dead white. Only, he didn't move. Not even with a knife in his body. His legs trembled, but didn't fold, and a faint trace of bewilderment crossed Mihawk's face, the first emotion to do so. At this point, I knew they would be exchanging words, but it was so quiet that I couldn't hear the conversation, leaving it my imagination to remember the exact words. I… couldn't be angry about this. Right now, Zoro was proving the strength of his conviction to the world's greatest swordsman; it didn't matter whether or not the rest of us were in on it.

Mihawk abruptly pulled back. Along with the knife, in a fresh spray of blood. I winced, biting my lip to force back my reaction because the awful sound had carried and now everything I'd ever read about _leaving objects inside the wound _so you don't _die _was coming to mind.

"Tell me your name." Mihawk again, loud and commanding in the breathless silence.

"Roronoa Zoro." There wasn't a trace of pain or hesitation in Zoro's reply. Though blood was leaking down his front, staining his white shirt and green sash, his movements were just as fluid as at the start of the fight as he raised his swords again into a fan-like stance. Mihawk inclined his.

"…I will remember it," he said, gravely.

Then he reached for Yoru.

The anticipation of everyone watching, heavy as it already was, grew even heavier. I'd literally just seen Mihawk use it, but this was different now that I was watching from a distance as he drew the giant weapon from his back.

"As a token of respect," said Mihawk, holding the massive sword effortlessly in one hand, "I will end this duel with this blade of mine. The world's _strongest_ blade."

Was he projecting for the sake of everyone watching? Making sure our attention was even more fixed than it already was? Some of the Krieg pirates were freaking out, scrambling away as I'm sure it triggered some traumatic flashbacks. I couldn't tell if the world's greatest swordsman was showboating, or simply burning this moment into Zoro's memory.

The moment he would lose, that is.

…I knew Zoro was going to live. I knew he was going to. I knew he'd _live. _Except, the moment Mihawk moved— he hadn't taken the full offensive, until now— I didn't want to see. I wanted to look away and hide my head for my sake more than Zoro's as Yoru rose in the air, graceful in execution even as it met with opposing blades— and shattered them. In the blink of an eye, utter defeat. Pieces of metal flew in the air. Kuina's sword survived, as I knew it would, but another red line carved itself across Zoro's chest.

He stopped. Turned. Sheathed his last sword in a single movement. By the time Mihawk pivoted around, already mid-strike, he was there to meet him with open arms and a smile in the face of death. There were screams of horror around me, but I was too numb by now to join in; all I could think of was how Mihawk's grin was positively _hungry._

Yoru met flesh.

"_Zoro!"_

Luffy. And Usopp, crying out as Zoro wavered, and… fell. The currents had pulled the wreckage of the flagship away, and now an ocean was between us and the Baratie. Johnny and Yosaku, to their credit, didn't hesitate as they dove directly in the water to save him. Sanji was standing in shock, somehow managing to keep a lit cigarette in his mouth, while everyone else watching in general collectively lost their minds.

Was I freaking out? Yes. Yes I was. In the real world there was no way Zoro should have survived a slice like that, he should have been straight up bisected and yet he'd make it out alive. Maybe. I hoped. _Really hoped._

"_Damn_ you!" A stretchy arm flew across to the shipwreck. Luffy launched himself forward with a war cry, and I became suddenly aware of the fact that several things were going to happen and I had to pull it together because after all that I'd _completely forgotten about the Krieg pirates. _Don Krieg was sitting out there somewhere and I'd straight up blanked on him. There was an entire arc left to go through. Did I really want to stick around for the resulting fight? There was a high chance my steam-steam powers would blow up in my face rather help the Baratie in any kind of way; I'd gotten them this morning. I wasn't ready for that level of fighting out on the open ocean on floating restaurant of all things, but what could I _do?_

The answer came quickly.

Johnny and Yosaku's ship was still anchored at the end of the deck. As Luffy went flying across the gap between us and Mihawk, Usopp was hurriedly starting to shove off, fully prepared to steer the little ship to rescue, and in those few seconds of delay I made a snap decision.

"Wait! _Wait_!" Funny, I had to force myself to shout. Praying against steam-steam shenanigans I ran full tilt across the deck, shoving past Sanji— "Miss Kirsten!?" he called, startled— straight for the dock, right as the ropes were slipping out of Usopp's hands, "_Take me with you!"_

"Huh!?" His head snapped up. The last of the moorings were removed, and there was already a widening gap between the Baratie and the boat. No time for hesitation— I braced myself and made the jump, flying through the air and just in time to reach the deck with a hard landing. My knees slammed against the worn wood, but I didn't feel the pain. Not with a flabbergasted Usopp to deal with.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, even as he did whatever was involved with releasing the sails. I was already up, talking over him in my desperation.

"Take me with you!" I babbled, pleading with him, praying for him to listen, "I can help, take me with you! I can help, I can help—"

He looked as if he would answer, but that was when the wind hit and the sails snapped open. I staggered as the little ship started to move, and Usopp made his own decision to leave me for now and concentrate more on _getting the ship over there. _So… that wasn't a no. I'd take advantage of the small victories while I could, but I also didn't actually know how to sail so I went straight to the rails again in a white-knuckle grip, searching the waves for surfacing bodies. I was doing this a lot lately, grabbing something and holding tight out of complete lack of ability to do anything else.

_There._

Bursting from the water came Johnny and Yosaku. They paddled furious against the current with one arm each, as the other was supporting a very much in one piece Zoro. He'd lost his bandanna and was as pale as a corpse, but he gasped as they broke the surface— _alive._

Thank _god_. _This, _I could grab.

We sailed up beside them just in time. They pounded against the sides, unable to reach. Usopp almost pushed me aside in his haste—fair, this was his crewmate, not mine— but I was able to chip in and between the two of us we bodily hauled Zoro out of the water. He was heavy; I was torn between the frantic need to get him out of the nasty, bacteria filled ocean as quickly as possible, and afraid of making his wounds worse than they already were but we managed, albeit awkwardly. His legs still stuck over the edges, but _close enough _honestly, as long as he was lying flat. Someone appeared with a box, a white one with a red cross across the top. How was the Red Cross carrying over to this universe? There was just… so much blood. How could Zoro still be alive, how could he still be bleeding all over the deck like this? I tasted bile on my tongue— no, _no _this was not the time.

Usopp had some kind of bottle in hand, some kind of hopefully medical-grade alcohol, and was just starting to pour it all over the wound when I heard Mihawk again; his voice still carried over the waves, even as we started to drift away, sails unattended.

"I am Dracule Mihawk!" he called, Yoru sheathed for the last time, his composure back to a blank mask, "and it is too early for you to die. Know the world. Know yourself. And grow strong, Roronoa Zoro!"

The others were too preoccupied to really pay attention, but I leaned back, blood on my hands and under my knees as I looked out and listened. Was Zoro able to listen, too?

"No matter how much time goes by, not matter how many months you may take, be assured that I will stand at the top of the world in wait for you."

I wasn't crying. Nope. Those weren't tears down my cheeks.

"Forge ahead with the strength of your conviction, and _strive to surpass me_."

His final words rang in the air, sharp and clear. Except Zoro wasn't moving. His eyes were still closed.

"Bro?" One of the bounty hunters— shoot, which one was it— nearly sobbed, leaning over his body and dripping tears all over, "Bro, speak to us!" _He's unconscious! _I wanted to snap, but I was the outsider here and bit it back. It just wasn't looking good. Really, really wasn't.

"Zoro?" Someone else shouting. Luffy. "Usopp, is Zoro okay?"

"No! No he isn't!" I might have laughed from look Usopp made, both frustrated and trying not to be. "But he's still alive! Just unconscious!" It was too far to really see Luffy's face— I hope he felt relived.

With everyone panicking, huddled around and fumbling through the first aid box, somehow I was the first to see Zoro's arm twitch. In his hand was his sword, held in an iron grip even in his current state. I shot a look to his face just in time to see his eyes open—barely. They were unfocused, squinting against the sun, and he opened his mouth to gasp for air. Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku were too shocked to react, staring at the miracle with surprised faces, but I found myself drawn to his arm again, watching as his fingers fumbled at the edge, scrabbling weakling at the line between tsuba and sheath.

Ah. Right. Hopefully he'd be okay with this, but I didn't want him to waste any more energy than he needed to. I grabbed the sheath with my own hands; when my fingers brushed against his, his attention shifted to me. The look almost went right through me as he struggled to focus, and I shivered. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea; I tried to nod and maybe even smile, but I couldn't even manage that so instead I set my thumb against the guard and pushed. The sword loosened; I pulled away to avoid the razor edge, looking back to see Zoro still staring at me. Some of the tightness in his face relaxed, though, more at ease knowing that I wasn't trying to take his sword away from him.

Wado Ichimonji rose in the air, and I stopped trying to listen—instead I let Zoro's wavering oath wash over me, and found myself gripped with an unshakable sense of terror.

What was I doing here?

What the _hell _was I doing?

Roronoa Zoro had almost _died _facing the greatest swordsman in the world ahead of his time, and this would be only his _first_ near death experience. The _first. _How could he say these words, how could he make a vow to never lose again, coughing up blood while he even spoke? This was so different from a book made of paper and ink, this was blood and tears and promises and I was utterly unprepared to face a world that would actively try to kill me if I stayed on the same path as people like Zoro, and Luffy, an entire Straw Hat crew. All I had was, what, the inability to swim and a devil fruit I had no training in? What could I contribute? What could I _do?_

I couldn't hope to match up to their standard. _I couldn't walk this path._

_I want to go home._

Zoro's speech was finished—he dropped his arm back to the deck, completely out cold. But I only snapped out of my funk when the shipwreck in front of us exploded. Oh yeah, Mihawk was taking his leave. Despite myself I scanned through the chaos hoping to catch one last glimpse of the weird coffin ship, but no such luck— he was gone, hidden from sight by fresh wooden carnage. A part of me was disappointed. Scariest introduction to this world or not, even with my very mixed feelings about him right now, he'd saved my life and gotten me here, and that counted for something. So long, you magnificent bastard.

The boat rocked as we were hit with waves, the water displaced again as Kreig's ship broke apart even more. With no one manning the wheel so to speak, we were starting to drift away. In the distance I saw Luffy as he made a saving leap back to the Baratie.

"Usopp!" he shouted, "Go on ahead!"

Usopp looked about as emotionally bad as I felt, but he pulled himself together, and waved in acknowledgement.

"Alright!" he yelled back, "Leave Nami to us! Me and Zoro will bring her back!" Oh geez, Nami too. What a day to forget the plot. "You focus on getting us a cook!"

Johnny and Yosaku were back at it again with the alcohol. But, as I watched, Johnny—yeah, that was the right one— was pulling out a wide roll of gauze, prepared to start wrapping the worst of the injuries up and for some reason that struck a wrong note in me. Maybe it was me getting caught up in the moment; maybe I was feeling useless. Maybe it was me fighting back against the despair eating away in my stomach, but when I grabbed his wrist it was purely from instinct and Johnny actually looked at me with surprise.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice still raw with emotion. "I need to—"

"No, I know," I said, "You can't— you can't wrap it yet—"

"We need to stop the bleeding!" He snapped as he said it. I recoiled, but tried to hold a least a bit of my courage together. Years of second hand first-aid knowledge flashed through my mind. I tried sorting through it for the information I needed, and fast— I didn't expect them to trust me, but I need them to at least be open to help.

"I _know_," I repeated, "But— we can't like this. We—we need to get his shirt off so the fibers don't stick. If, if we don't now we'd have to later and it might open the wound again... I think it's— I think they're too wide to bandage, so we need to pull it together first? We need… to…" Why were the words escaping me? A little helplessly I mimed with my hands, trying to get the idea across. Johnny stared at me with some bewildered frustration, but across from him Yosaku lit up in understanding.

"Stitches!" He exclaimed, "You're right— I forgot—" The first aid box was still around, and he dove for it to rummage inside. Usopp rejoined us, quickly figuring out what was going on. As for me, I looked for the bottle of alcohol, and when I found it I dumped the contents all over my hands to sterilize them.

Sure, Zoro hadn't died from this in the manga. But that was a manga. And this was now. And he'd taken a fall into open ocean with an open wound. Even if he already held a ticket to guaranteed survival, the least I could was make sure we did this _right._

It was gonna be a long boat ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TIME to write FIGHTS
> 
> I like to stay in the realm of canon-typical violence but now that I'm writing so-called canon-typical violence, feel free to shout out if maybe it edges out of bounds too much because I'm not sure where the line is when you're transcribing manga action, so to speak.
> 
> I also just had a triple whammy of bronchitis, conjunctivitis, and sinusitis and my general review is that you shouldn't have this.


	5. Chapter 5

Johnny and Yosaku (and would I ever be able to think of them as separate beings other than the singular unit 'JohnnyandYosaku') had a general idea of what should be done with wounds caused by sharp edges, but the finer points of surgical stitching evaded them. So I did my best with a pair of scissors to peel back Zoro's blood soaked clothing, rolled up my sleeves, and went down on Zoro's horrific injury with an iron needle and a length of twine.

Yep. I sewed up his horrific wound myself. I wasn't a surgeon. My hands shook— I had stop frequently and wipe them on my jacket when they became too slick with blood to grip the needle. I would have traded both my devil fruit _and _the ability to swim for the miraculous appearance of Trafalgar Law in this moment, but he wasn't here; just me, a swordsman bleeding out on the deck, two panicking bounty hunters, and Usopp.

When Yosaku surfaced with the stitching supplies, his fingers were too callused and clumsy to even tie it off. Johhny hadn't been much better. Sewing up a living human being had never been a thing that had crossed my mind, ever- I sewed costumes not people dammit- so my taking charge hadn't really been something planned. But in the moment I'd slipped into a numb, hollow sort of shock, and seeing the only other people on deck unable to get to it right away— somehow it didn't occur to me to see if Usopp was able to, because wasn't he a kid, he didn't need to do this, if I remembered right he was _seventeen— _triggered what my friends and family would have called 'Mom Mode.'

Ie, something needed to be done and no one else was doing it. So I did it.

_It's okay, he's unconscious anyway, _I chanted in my head as I ladder stitched the edges of Zoro's skin back together. Probably there was a more proper way to sew human flesh that I knew absolutely jack about. Was it too tight? He'd need to be able to move around a lot more later on. God, my nose itched but if I scratched it I'd probably smear blood all over my face. There was... so much blood, dark and raw and red...

No time for thoughts. I focused on the stitches and odd material I pulled it through, yielding like wet cardboard but still thick enough to struggle with each pull of the needle—

It felt like hours. I slipped into some kind of zone, each movement running on mechanical autopilot and when I finally stopped it was because I'd reached the end of the jagged cut and had no more gaping red left to pull together. The program ground to a halt; I blinked, emerging from the zone, to hear words directed at me. I couldn't comprehend them, but Usopp was taking my arm and tugging me back so I did so. The needled dropped from numb fingers. The bounty hunting pair was looming with a heavy roll of gauze, and now that I was out of their way they descended. But not before Yosaku sent me a watery smile and a nod; acknowledging my work.

Huh. So I was done. I looked down at my hands, covered in blood, and my jacket, equally covered with dried, rust colored splotches. I'd been crouching for who-knew-how long and tried standing only to find my legs had cramped, and the altitude change made me dizzy. Usopp made concerned sounds, still tugging at my arm. Unsurprisingly I found myself wavering. There was a pounding in my ears, and the world was spinning, but in the descending haze I only knew it wouldn't be cool if I fell directly across my patient, so I lurched for the first open patch of deck I could find, ignoring all else around me.

"I'm gonna lie down," I mumbled, right before I pitched forward and everything went black.

* * *

The pressure in my skull was there when I came to. Waking up from a fainting spell is different than waking up from normal sleep (unfortunate past experience speaking...) and as such, I woke up slowly, not fully coherent enough to realize I was awake at all, equally unsure whether or not I was upright or horizontal. The pressure also didn't go away— I thought maybe it had to do with my devil fruit, and in my groggy state was sure that somehow the top of my head was gone— but no, that was a regular ol' headache.

…Everything over the past day was catching up to me, it seemed.

I was, in fact, lying on my back, so the first thing I tried was sitting up. Moving was a mistake though. Pain lanced behind my eyes and I grimaced; the sun was way too bright.

"Ah. Geez," I muttered, dragging my hand up in a weak attempt to block the light. There was a gasp, and as I pushed myself up I saw Usopp gaping at me from the other side of the boat. Zoro was… not there anymore, and the deck was clean of blood. Puzzle, I looked down and saw that my bloody jacket had been removed and was now folded under my head as a pillow.

"…How long was I out?" I asked, words slurring faintly; it'd take a bit for the icky post-fainting feeling to go away.

"Er," Usopp said, "All night, actually. We were kind of worried."

What. Baffled, I tried looking at the sun again. Well, the position of it, which was a lot lower and also on the opposite side of the sky than where I remembered it being. This was morning sun, not late afternoon/early evening sun like it had been seemingly minutes ago. Apparently I was on my official second day in the One Piece Universe without my knowing; I groaned and dropped my head into my hands.

"Sorry," I said. "I didn't— I haven't really gotten any sleep lately."

On cue my stomach rumbled. Loudly. Followed by my body realizing that yes, it _hadn't _eaten in _ages_, and next thing I knew I was doubled over from hunger pains.

"Are you okay!?" Usopp scrambled up, but clearly wasn't sure what to do if his frantically waving hands said anything.

"Yes… no, I'm really not," I managed through gritted teeth. "I haven't eaten for…" This day thus far, yesterday, not since brunch-ish the day before that… "Maybe…. Two-ish days? Three?"

"_What?"_

"Not by choice. Um… do you have anything to eat?" I asked this while wincing from a fresh stab of pain in both head and stomach. Goddamn, but I'd missed my chance at the Baratie, what with pirates and warlords all over the place.

"Oh! Sure, uh, let me go see if there's anything," Usopp said, then stood awkwardly in place for a minute just looking around. Probably because it wasn't his boat. "Hey, guys— Yosaku, hey!"

"Yes?" There he was, peeking out from above. To the front was the bow, and to the back was a cabin, partially sunken in the deck, from which sprouted the mast. Yosaku appeared to have been chilling with the rigging, but on seeing me his expression brightened, and he promptly scrambled down to join us. "Sis! You're awake!" he said joyfully— was he tearing up? Why was he tearing up? "I was worried— first Zoro, then you passed out…" Oh geez he was definitely tearing up.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly; Yosaku sniffled and scrubbed his nose against his sleeve.

"It's— It's been an eventful few days," he said. Well, he wasn't wrong. Still, he managed to keep calm enough to smile, and, to my surprise, bow his head in my direction. "Zoro's gonna be okay, we think," he said, "With thanks to you, sis! His stitches are holding up, and the bleeding's stopped. He's probably gonna be out for a while, but he's alive, and that's what counts."

"Oh." I blinked. "Gosh. Yeah. I'm glad to hear it. You're welcome. I mean, I wouldn't have _not _done anything—"

Another loud gurgle, another vicious cramp, and I broke off to grit my teeth against it. "Shoot. Sorry to sound rude, but …"

"Do you guys have any food?" Usopp finished for me, jumping in the conversation, "She said she hasn't eaten for two days!"

"What!? Really?" Yosaku's eyes bugged out, "Sure, we keep it down below. Hang tight sis, I'll get something to eat!" With that, he barged into the cabin.

Usopp and I sat for a minute in silence.

"He's right," he said suddenly. I looked over in question; Usopp scratched at the back of his head in an awkward manner. "Thanks for helping Zoro. I think we all were panicking, but you kept it together, somehow."

"…I don't really know if I did," I said. Flashes of before came to mind, and I shuddered. There were still faded red patches on my hands. God, there'd been an awful lot of blood. "I'm just glad it worked out. Thanks for not kicking me overboard, I guess."

"Oh, yeah. That bit surprised me." Quiet again, a little awkward. Neither of us knew what to say, it seemed. "I'm Usopp," he finally offered. "I don't think any of us got the chance to introduce ourselves. And your name was, uh…? Sorry, I forgot."

"Nice to meet you, Usopp," I said with a small smile. Technically, I wasn't supposed to know any names yet. In all of yesterday's chaos, it hadn't really been a priority so this first real introduction felt… nice. Plus I could use the opportunity to properly name myself. "My name's Kirsten. It was kind of crazy yesterday, so no biggie."

"Kirsten, huh?" Usopp mused, "Even under the circumstances, it's nice to meet you, too." To my surprise, he held out a hand, so I shook it just as Yosaku took the moment to reappear, banging open the cabin door with an armful of rations in tow.

"Here!" he exclaimed, "There's not much variety, but it should fill you up. I grabbed extra since none of us have eaten yet, either."

He dropped the pile at our feet, a collection of rolls and packages of jerky and other food bars, and some bottles of what looked like some kind of soda. Truly not much variety, and not something I would have picked for breakfast (weren't these the guys with scurvy not too long ago?) but at this point I was too hungry to care and as soon as the food was in reach I fell on whatever I could grab with a gusto. Usopp and Yosaku watched in kind of horrified fascination as I scarfed down mouthfuls of bread, tore into bland, salty jerky and dry granola, and washed it all down with what indeed was soda.

"Sorry," I managed between bites, "Sorry, I'm just… really… hungry…"

"Wow." Usopp seemed impressed in a horrified kind of way. "I've never seen anyone but Luffy eat that fast."

"Careful!" Yosaku said with more concern, "Don't get sick and throw it all up again!" Whoops that was a real concern. I forced myself to chew a little slower, to not let the dry foods stick to my throat. And so there we were, sitting in an odd triangle in silence save for my chomping and slurping I didn't care enough to hide. It started edging on awkward pretty quickly. They exchanged glances, and my eyes went between the two of them. It occurred that I was maybe a little more comfortable than I had the right to feel. In my eyes, I already knew these guys. Any weirdness came from the fact that they were flesh and blood, but to them, I was someone who rode in with the guy who nearly killed their friend, hitchhiked without asking, and now was eating all their food. Clearly it was up to me do something about it.

Choking down a mouthful of bread, I cleared my throat to catch their attention; this would be weird no matter what, I reckoned, so I'd have to play enough on the down low that it didn't seem _too _much like I was fishing.

"I realize that I'm the one who's a stowaway here," I said, fiddling with the hem of my crusty shirt, "And that circumstances are a bit… well, uh, where are you guys headed? So I know how big of a favor to ask in advance. Ha ha." The laugh was an afterthought and a bit weak. Naturally I knew exactly where we were headed, which was another kettle of fish… goddammit, we were headed to Arlong Park and I'd just made a private fish joke. Neither Yosaku or Usopp thought it funny, either, as the former blanched and the latter slapped a hand to his forehead.

"I can't believe I forgot," Usopp moaned, "I get that, maybe you didn't have a choice, but… this probably isn't the best place for you."

"Yeah, it really isn't."

All of us jumped because Johnny the bounty hunter was suddenly standing over us all from where he'd suddenly appeared.

"Oh, bro!" Yosaku exclaimed, "Where've you been?"

"Keeping an eye on Zoro," Johnny said, and though he was wearing his trademark pair of weird sunglasses, I could feel him giving a Look. "Bro, weren't you supposed to be keeping course?"

Yosaku's eyes popped comically out of his head. With a hurried apology, he jumped to his feet and disappeared, back to the sail. Leaving us with Johnny to take his place, who transferred the Look to me. Fidgeting even more in place, if this were an anime I'd probably be doing the nervous sweat, because Johnny seemed more surly a person in real life than he'd been on page. I didn't know if it were because I was seeing them outside their context as bumbling comedic relief, but it was a little unnerving. Maybe that's why he wore the sunglasses; maybe it helped with the image of bad cop to Yosaku's good cop, who overall seemed more good natured?

"How is he? Um, Zoro?" I asked to break the ice. Johnny stared a little longer, but finally he sighed— and dropped right down to sit cross-legged in Yosaku's old spot.

"Still unconscious," he said, "It's a nasty wound, even for him. I'll feel better when we find an _actual_ doctor somewhere to look at it." He seemed to look pointedly at me as he said this; was that a dig? It felt like a dig. Until he shrugged, rolled his head away. "But it could have been worse," he admitted, "As much as I'd like to punch out the other guy… At least he's not dead. And that we got to him right away when we did."

That felt as much as a concession as I was going to get. I'd take it.

"In any case,"Johnny said at last, "Don't take it personally, sis—" Oh! He called me sis! Maybe I was in the clear after all, "—but I'm not sure it's better here for you than at the Baratie. We're actually following someone. I don't know how much you heard, but… a former crew mate of his," he jabbed a thumb over at Usopp, "Stole his crew's ship and hightailed it. And stole all our cash while she was at it."

He reddened, and muttered something under his breath that didn't sound kind.

"Really? That… sucks," I said, because it did, but… I hoped my acting skills held up for this. "Is it that, uh, bad? I mean, I won't be offended if you drop me off when you dock, I can stay out of the way. Mostly I just want to be off the water."

"I get that. Just wanted to warn you that it might be awkward, especially if…" he trailed away, then shook his head. "Hopefully not," he mumbled. I wondered if he already had his suspicions about Arlong, then. Usopp looked confused, but let it go to add his own two cents.

"You don't have to get involved," Usopp reassured me, considerably more lighthearted. "We're just trying to get the ship and our _current _crew member back," he said, added emphasis on part of the sentence. Hmm, dissension in the ranks. "I'm sure we can help you out after. Luffy would want us to."

"Uh. Thanks, if it comes to that. And thanks for everything else while we're at it," I said, and made a vague wave around the boat for emphasis.

"I guess if you don't mind," Johnny said. "Now that you're awake… sis, you kind of smell."

The bluntness caught me off guard.

"Er," I said, as Usopp made a pained face. Johnny awkwardly scratched his head, some of his hard expression finally easing as he gave me a once over. "It won't fit, but… do you want to borrow some spare clothes? Least we can do for," he gestured to my shirt, "That, anyway. The, uh, blood and stuff."

Oh. Geez. I was still covered in Zoro's dried blood along with all manner of sea salt and sweat. These clothes were probably _toast _but I hadn't really the chance to think about it at _all, _considering… well, everything.

"That would be nice," I said faintly, much to the relief of the others who apparently had been too polite to say anything about it.

The loaner clothes were a patchwork affair. When Yosaku heard about he also offered to chip in and so I ended up with a pair of mustard colored plaid shorts, an olive green t-shirt, and a red floral Hawaiian number over that. Though, probably it wasn't called Hawaiian here. They didn't exactly have a matching color scheme, and since they were all adult male sizes, everything was way too big. The shorts were more capris, the shirt almost a tunic. I made do by cuffing the legs and belting it tight around the waist, then tying off the shirt in the back. Not perfect, but a far cry from before because they were basically rags at this point.

Regretfully, I kept my underwear on, because there are some things you just don't borrow and I didn't feel up to going commando in someone else's pants. I could burn them later first chance I got.

Seeing as how I was a female on a ship full of men, I ordered everyone off to the other side of the boat so I could change, which they did so hastily and without a fuss. I suppose I could have gone in the cabin but the thought of changing next to an unconscious person seemed wrong somehow so I made it quick while I had the chance. After changing, though, I wet my old shirt to mop off some more of the blood and salt and sand, scrubbing especially hard at my ankles that were dark with grime. A minute of scrubbing and pangs of pain revealed something else entirely; the dark spots weren't coming off. Horrible realization followed.

"Guys?" I called in a wavering voice. "I'm done changing, but, uh…"

"What is it?" Yosaku asked once they'd returned, picking up on my worry. I pointed.

"Are these… how long have these been here? Did you notice them before, or…?"

"Huh?" He leaned over, then nodded. "Oh, I saw them earlier when you fainted… sorry." He seemed sheepish, but confirmed my fears as he then added, "Those are some nasty bruises, sis. How'd you get them?"

_Bruises. _Curling around both ankles, tendrils of deep blue and purple and standing glaringly out against my pale legs. I didn't remember them. Hadn't noticed them at all, which was something because I'd been in shorts and no shoes, but I guess with all the sand and stuff stuck on my body... they hadn't been there when I'd first gotten here, had they? Had they only just risen? They were so… _angry. _The way they curled almost reminded me of… fingers.

…Nah… that couldn't be it… surely the marks were too long to actually be _hand prints._

…Right?

"Sis?" I faintly heard Yosaku ask, but his voice deemed oddly muffled by the ringing in my head. Maybe from the shock, as I stared dully at the bruises, unable to place where they might have come from because everything seemed so _fuzzy _all of a sudden, and all I could remember was cold, and the rushing of water, filling my nose and mouth and ears—

"_Woah!"_

"Hey, Kirsten!"

"Augh! Sis, Sis!"

"Huh, what?" I snapped out of it when everyone started screaming. Mostly because as I quickly found my steam-steam powers, strangely but conveniently dormant after my fainting spell, had decided to act up again, and I'd managed to fill the entire front of the boat in a dense cloud of white. "Oh— Sorry! Sorry!"

"Augh, it's hot!"

"Turn it off!"

"I'm trying! I'm trying!" I meant it, but once again I had zero clue how to turn off everything, panicking and somehow ending up sending _more _steam rolling across the boat and over the sides like a fog machine gone wrong. In the chaos, and my frantic apologies, the _thud _of the cabin door slamming open went unnoticed.

"Can you all quit screaming?"

We all froze. A new, very groggy voice had joined in. My steam works cut out, maybe because I was now busy gaping at a pale, swaying, but very much awake Zoro— leaning against the cabin walls for balance, but upright. Staring at us all with a certain amount of annoyance as we all struggled with something to say. We managed eventually, because there was really only one thing we could say in response, shouted out tearfully in various degrees of shock and relief.

"_Zoro!"_

"Seriously?" he rasped.

Usopp and Yosaku burst into tears.

"You idiot!" that was the former, going for angry relief as he chose to stomp over. "You shouldn't be standing right now! What the hell are you doing awake so soon?"

"I got better," Zoro said.

"Like hell you did!"

"Bro…" Yosaku sobbed, "You're awake… we were so worried…"

"I can't believe it," Johnny was the only one not in tears but he looked pretty close to it "Only you would be standing so soon after an injury like that, Zoro, only you."

"Thanks, I guess?" He seemed awkward from the attention, but maybe he was still just out of it. Like he should be. Because normal people _would _be, normal people wouldn't even be standing at _all _and here he was, upright and mostly coherent after what, a night? I'd only fainted and I was still woozy. People in the One Piece universe really were something else.

"Really, you shouldn't be up," Yosaku said as he wiped away his tears, "Just leave things to us, bro. Don't aggravate your stitches."

"Nah, I'm good. I slept enough," Zoro said, pushing away from the door frame— and almost stumbling as he did so. Luckily he had two worried people on either arm to steady him. "Quit it, I'm fine. Did we catch up to Nami yet?"

"N-no…"

"Then let's get going."

"Would you _please _sit down again? You're making me nervous."

"I'm _fine,"_ he only insisted, awfully lively for someone who'd been comatose ten minutes ago, but Zoro finally stopped— because he'd finally noticed me, still standing stupidly in the middle of the deck where I'd been sucking steam back up. They weren't quite focused, but his eyes narrowed as they met mine.

"Hi," I said automatically, raising a hand.

"You," Zoro said, "You rode in with _him."_

"Who I am one-hundred percent unaffiliated with," I said, very quickly, "We were together under a very weird set of circumstances and that's it."

"She's the one who sewed you up," Yosaku offered, "Got you into the boat and everything. She was really helpful!"

Zoro stared a little longer at that, with a very measured sort of look and I wondered how much he remembered, given his trauma. But finally he nodded, slightly.

"Hm," he said, "Alright, then." And that was that.

He finally consented to sitting against the cabin with some coaxing. Johnny went to check our heading, and I felt a little forgotten as Usopp and Yosaku fussed over the very unperturbed Zoro. I guess that was fine, though. I felt very tired again all of a sudden. Staring out over the waves, I thought about fishmen, the bruises around my ankles, and my devil fruit. Up to this point I'd managed to successfully dodge major plot points and conflict… but I wasn't sure I could keep it up, not when we were sailing straight into very unavoidable danger.

Zoro was awake… but Arlong Park was waiting for us. Don Krieg was one thing. Arlong himself though…

Man. Out of one fish-frying pan, into the fire. Too bad Arlong wouldn't be a fish so easily fried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ultimately I'm going to try to keep my blood and violence strictly in line with what's more or less been done in the manga already; that said, if anyone thinks I go overboard whether in style or description, let me know if I need to change the warnings or tags.


	6. Chapter 6

"Wait, so, hang on," I said, rubbing my eyes in attempt to wake up a little quicker, "You said… wait, you did _what _with Yosaku?"

"We sent him back to the Baratie for reinforcements," Johnny said, "Not sure how that's confusing…"

I looked out over the horizon with a certain amount of horror as I went over the words.

"No, no the concept make sense," I muttered, "It's the execution I'm not too sure about here." I rubbed my eyes again, more out of disbelief than any sleepiness. I mean… I'd dozed off for maybe an hour. An _hour, _but of course that was just long enough to miss a moment of illogical One Piece wackiness that made sense on paper, but decidedly less so in physical practice.

Stupid panda shark. Honestly I should have seen it coming, this was on me. It was one of those one-page details I'd totally forgotten about, and at the time hadn't been too important beyond its comedic value, but, _honestly. _The panda shark? Well, we had to get those reinforcements somehow, though; I sighed and led my head drop back against the cabin wall.

Previously, sometime before my nap, the boat had lapsed into silence as everyone did their own thing. In real life traveling actually took time. Hours passed slowly, and painfully; there just hadn't been anything to do— until Johnny gathered everyone on the bow of the boat with a heavy frown and a map in his hand. Specifically the bow because Zoro was there; for all his bravado, it was obviously taking everything he had just to stay awake and more or less upright, and right now he was leaning in a forced-casual manner against the cabin. He'd been dozing there for the majority of the time. We mostly were glad he wasn't moving around, and had left him to it.

Yosaku and Usopp were fishing in the back and came clambering over to join us, but not before I caught sight of a rope tied to the stern. It wiggled oddly back and forth, especially where it disappeared under the waves and seemed to be attached to a—

"Is that a _shark? _" I blurted out, because sure enough there was a straight-up shark fin rising out the water, struggling in agitation as we dragged it along.

"You bet!" Usopp said, looking proud, "A panda shark! Can't believe we hooked it! Not that it was a big deal for a master fisherman such as myself, for I once spent three days and three nights in battle with a monstrous catfish, the size of—"

I tuned out the rest of the sentence pretty easily.

"When did— how— and you kept it?" I asked instead, baffled that I'd missed the whole thing, and even more baffled by Yosaku's nonchalant reply as if towing a shark was a completely normal and casual thing.

"Seafood tastes best when you keep it fresh," he explained matter-of-fact, and I… couldn't really see any fault with that statement, I guess.

"Forget the shark, because I've got some bad news," Johnny said, also completely unfazed by our actual shark problem, and expressions went grim.

"Did you figure out where we're going?" Zoro spoke up. His eyes were still closed. I wondered how much of his dozing was actual dozing.

"Yeah," Johnny replied, "And that's the bad news— pretty sure Nami's headed to Cocoyashi Village."

Yosaku immediately paled. Usopp looked confused, but it helped normalize my equal lack of reaction because I technically already knew that; I tried to chime in anyway to help move things along.

"How's that the bad news?" I asked, "I guess I don't know the area, though…"

"It's not the village so much as what's next to it," Johnny sighed, "I was hoping it wouldn't be the case, but… Arlong Park is also on this same island. It's more than likely to be her actual destination."

"…I've heard of that place." Zoro's eyes were open now. "Sounds like you were expecting it."

"Back at the Baratie," Yosaku said slowly, "Nami was looking at a bunch of our bounty posters. There was one she couldn't stop staring it in particular… the bounty poster of Arlong, captain of the Arlong Pirates."

I couldn't help my next action. I had a habit of muttering things when I was thinking— the next bit was more me remembering plot rather than any actual response to Yosaku's 'revelation.'

"Former member of the Sun pirates…" I said out loud, to myself more than anything— I didn't remember that whole backstory very well. The bounty hunting pair turned on me with surprised looks.

"You've heard of him, sis?" Yosaku asked with raised eyebrows, and I realized I didn't exactly know what counted as public knowledge in this world. It probably wasn't _uncommon _knowledge per se if your average bounty hunter at least knew a little, but mostly I didn't want them asking further questions I _wouldn't _remember/know the answer to, so I tried thinking up a plausible way to keep things moving along.

"Only a little," I 'admitted' slowly, "I read about Fisher Tiger in a book once. I thought the crew was all locked up?" Technically not even wrong, just that the book in question was a comic book.

"You'd think, but unfortunately, we have Jinbei to thank for that— one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The Marines' personal group of sanctioned pirates." Johnny acted as if the words left a particularly bad taste in his mouth. "Long story short, the others were pardoned on condition of him accepting the position. I mean, looking out for your crew mates is one thing, but when you're unleashing trouble on other poor folks…" He shook his head. "Arlong's been set up here for a while now. We thought about taking him on once, but… facing one fishman, especially on his level, is no joke. The Arlong pirates are a whole crew; we might be in trouble here."

"Why on earth would Nami head there?" Usopp said, looking a little paler than normal, but that was the question that left everyone stumped and scratching their heads, and at that point I kind of… started to zoned out. I couldn't really help it. I was… more than a little tired, because, well, I'd yet to get any real _sleep _recently. Being unconscious didn't count. Seeing as I sort of… knew this stuff, I decided to side-eye Zoro, currently slumped next to me, and nudge him gingerly with an elbow.

"Mihawk is one of the Shichibukai, you know," I muttered. His interested was piqued by the mention, enough that I got a side-eye back as he straightened a bit.

"A what?"

"Uhh, one of the seven warlords of the sea?" I clarified, "That Johnny literally just mentioned?" Ah, Shichibukai probably wasn't a phrase here. But I'd heard other casual Japanese terms... Zoro made no other outward reaction— only grinned.

"That so?" he said, matter-of-factly, but there was an edge to the grin that made me a little uncomfortable. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

"…Seriously? You didn't know that?" I deadpanned, "These guys never mentioned it even once?"

"They might have said something like that, but it didn't seem that important so I didn't really think about it."

"You didn't really…" Face to palm. Direct flight, one way, non-stop. "I can't _believe _you're not dead."

"He's the world's greatest swordsman, and that's all I need to know," is all Zoro said in response, leaning back and closing his eyes again, "Doesn't matter who or what else he is if I'm the one who's going to win in the end." I didn't bother with a response. I'd leave that to the other practical members of the Straw Hats. I shouldn't even be surprised by his words anyway, he was literally like this through the entire manga, but again, real life vs. fantasy expectations were rearing up and I was just going drop the whole thing now that I'd scratched that particular itch.

I idly went back to the lack of recognition to the word Shichibukai. It was what I was used to saying and reading, because it was easier than saying 'seven warlords of the sea' all the time. While somehow I was still effectively speaking English here, I'd also heard 'nakama' and '-chan' thrown in casual conversation. I guessed I'd just assumed that Shichibukai was also okay…? Of course, it could be Zoro just didn't know. I'd have to ask one of the others, probably the bounty hunting pair and see if they reacted at all, or…

…That was when I fell asleep. It was… nice. Uncomfortable, since it was while leaning against a wood cabin, on a wooden deck, but, well… it was probably the first natural bit of sleep I'd had, and everyone else's voices blurred together and faded out as I finally dozen off. It meant my neck hurt when I snapped awake again, of course, and out of sorts for a minute…

…but not as out of sorts as when I was cheerfully informed that Yosaku had been sent back to warn Luffy of the danger of Arlong Park. Via… panda shark. Bringing everything back to the whole conundrum of the Panda Shark Problem.

"You know what? Never mind. Cool, reinforcements," I said, spontaneously deciding to drop the whole issue entirely. This all felt suspiciously like the real-life equivalent of a jump cut. "Uh, did I miss anything else? What's the plan?"

"Plan?" Usopp and Johnny blinked at me owlishly. Thaaaat sounded bad.

"Plan of action?" I asked weakly, "To find your friend? Anything?"

"Well… obviously, Nami must be in some sort of trouble. So we just have to sneak it, find her and the Merry, and get out! All before this Arlong guy notices." Usopp finished up by nodding in a sagely manner. I waited a minute to see if there was anything else.

"That's it?"

"Huh? Were you expecting something else?"

I tried to keep my face from twitching. I really did. "Never mind," I just said faintly. They looked at each other, shrugged, and went back to sailing things as I dropped my head again. They… really had gone into things blind at the page-start of the arc. I mean… again… I shouldn't have expected any differently, but talking to real people instead of jovially reading a page with suspension of belief… man. Maybe I should figure out what _I _was supposed to do instead, I thought dully. Because I was about to be part of this too.

I'd managed to skip the Baratie arc through sheer luck; jumping headfirst into the Arlong arc would probably be a little over my head, especially at my… current power level. Really I had only had a choice of fight or flight, and I probably couldn't help with the former because unlike everyone here, I didn't actually know how to fight. Not to mention, these guys were going to sail straight up to Arlong Park. Shit.

Subconsciously I went straight to a bad habit of mine—chewing the sides of my nails. A gross habit, something I'd never shaken off, but this time things went a little sideways as my finger gave way under my teeth, and poofed into a little column of steam. Vapor filled my mouth instead as I spluttered. It didn't burn, but it was an awkward sensation as I pulled the hand away and stared at the stump where the tip of the finger used to be.

Riiiight. And then there was this. I hadn't had a quiet enough moment to have a good think about my powers; most of the ride with Mihawk had been spent specifically trying to _not _use it for… reasons, but here, it was a little less hostile. There was still a chance of going totally incorporeal, but the two times I'd done that had been emotional meltdown and extreme blunt force trauma, so maybe I was sort of safe for now? I shuddered slightly from the memory of how wrong it felt being so totally disembodied. Now, my finger just steamed a little, then sealed itself back up.

"Okay," I muttered, "Small steps. Keep it together." Haha, literally. The control thing, though… grumbling, I regretfully pushed the chewing aside and steepled my hands together instead, resting my chin on the tips of my fingers. Control, control. At the very least I could consider myself safe from most physical attacks, so there was that. Downside: all the first fishman I met needed to do was chuck me in the water. I suppose that would change if there was nothing corporeal for them to grab, but—

Oddly, my body shivered, alongside a strange rush of panic at the mere thought of losing shape. It was… weird, and strangely involuntary. I… wasn't scared of it that much, was I? Even so, I briefly tensed, my hands frozen together as they went stiff with tension—

Followed by my chin thudding into my chest as the hands dissolved.

…First I was annoyed at the inconvenience, and mildly panicked on a primal level seeing the steaming stumps of my wrists, but somehow, right in between those two reactions, the inkling of a thought struck. I almost dismissed it, because… no, it couldn't be that _easy. _But, I mean, the devil fruit's powers had to be accessed _some_how…

Carefully, I eyed my 'hands,' inwardly marveling that even though they were physically gone, I could still feel them as if they were there. Even when I waved them back and forth, scattering wisps of white in the air. The few times I'd tried transforming on my own… I'd tried to trigger a change by thinking really hard at the limb in question, and in those few times it had done absolutely nothing. Maybe that was the key. Maybe… I'd really just been thinking too hard.

I took a deep breath, focusing on my hands again, but with a different kind of focus. This time, I didn't will my hands into shape. Instead I thought about the exact moment my fingers had locked, caught in my inexplicable shivering, and focused on that the little bit of feeling that still told me that my hands were attached to the rest of my arm, and for a lack of a better word, I… flexed.

My fingers reformed quickly and easily in front of my eyes.

"Oh," I said aloud. There'd been a twinge of anxiety before, but it disappeared, this time in a rush of excitement. I held my hands up higher, and again— I _flexed, _and just like that they dissolved again. "Oh!"

"Thaaaat's weird," a mystified voice said, and I swiveled to find Usopp looking faintly disturbed, but I was too giddy to care.

"It's not a force of will thing!" I said excitedly, "Well, maybe some of it is, but it doesn't happen randomly! It… it's a muscle! It's like a voluntary muscle!" Again I turned to my hands— again, I found them reformed just by reaching for that _flex, _that _twitch_. Emboldened, I tried something different, tried flexing a little further, and was gratified as not only my hand, but my entire right arm up to the elbow dissolved into hissing steam. It seemed a little more agitated than it had at just the fingers, but I could figure that out later. There was so much to experiment with right now, so I stretched my cramped legs and jumped to my feet and—

Immediately ate deck.

…What— "…the hell?" I mumbled, with my face squashed into the wood. My legs just tingled in response, the usual feeling when you cut the circulation off too long. That wasn't quite the whole case here, as I rolled over and instead found that my legs below the knee had dissolved into a bank of steam in a rough approximation of the real thing.

"Uh, are you okay?" Usopp again.

"…I didn't flex that one," I said blankly… No! That didn't mean I was wrong. It took a second— leg muscles were different than finger muscles— but the _flex _did work here, too, and my leg was back to normal with a faint whooshing sound. Okay, what the hell was this all about?

"You know, I haven't really had the chance to ask, but… when did you say you became a devil fruit user, again?" asked Usopp, eyeing my leg warily. He did offer a hand to help me up, though.

"Yesterday?" I replied absently, also eyeing my leg warily and reaching to grab the offered hand up. Tried to, anyway; the moment I put some pressure into it, my hand, and my arm, promptly turned into steam.

We stared at the resulting stump with blank expressions. I reformed my arm, and wordlessly offered it back.

"Er…" Usopp vainly tried grabbing my hand again, only for his grip to dissolve my hand… again. There was an awkward pause.

"So, uh…"

"…It's not just a voluntary muscle," I deadpanned, and resisted the urge to slam my face into the deck again.

Of course. Of course it wasn't that easy. I didn't try getting up again, just stayed sitting, staring at my limbs. Clearly, there was still some experimentation to be done before we reached Arlong Park. Clearly, it would be a problem if my legs didn't bother staying together if I were running for my life from a rampaging fishman, and clearly, unpredictable application of steam powers would only make me a liability even just staying out of the way— so I found the issue of Arlong Park pushed soundly out of mind in favor of my own, ah, personal problems. I mean, I already knew what was going to happen, right? I'd come back to the main plot issue later once I had more of this thing figured out.

Did it occur to me that I was dismissing the larger issue way too easily? Absolutely. Maybe it was a fit of escapism. Maybe I was dissociating from the fact that there was a larger issue at all. Or maybe, like any good procrastinator, I simply decided that I had plenty of time to experiment with staying solid _and _think of a battle plan, before we reached the park. Because I already knew the plot. It was fine to set it a side for another hour or two. It would be fine. It's fine.

Totally fine.

* * *

Oh my god, I was a **_total idiot._**

"How did it come to this?" I asked no one in particular. Johnny nodded in a sage-like manner as if he hadn't just minutes before called 'land-ho' with his legs shaking so badly it was a wonder he was still upright.

"Indeed," he said gravely, "You're absolutely right… how does a despot like Arlong set up his stronghold like this, in the east blue, flaunting his tyrannical power under the very noses of the marines who are supposed to protect the populace? Truly despicable…"

That absolutely wasn't the observation I was making here but you know what, whatever, that too. Usopp gulped audibly from where he ducked behind the edge of the boat's prow.

"Geez, that's… intimidating. Nami really came all the way here?" He muttered. Currently there was no sign of the Merry. No big deal; I guess it would be in sight any minute now, but I was a little more preoccupied staring up at the looming bulk that was Arlong Park. Essentially a huge, gray tiered building that soared much higher than on page. It seemed… sharper here in person. Not that it had been particularly inviting in the manga. But the edges, the architecture, it was missing the funny bulging corners, and the shark head on top didn't seem nearly as comical than it used to. The spire on the very top looked… particularly sinister. Waves slapped against the outer walls, too dark to see through.

The boat sailed closer, and as Johnny moved to peek over the edge with Usopp, I was struck with a very strong sense of déjà vu… much like the moment I first sailed in with Mihawk. Somehow, I'd found myself exactly at the start of another influential story arc, on the verge of teetering down the slope and into the chaos.

I didn't have a single plan in place. Goddammit.

"So, we made it," Usopp was whispering, "The real problem, though... we should find out where Nami docked the Merry,"

"And if we run into fishmen?" I asked— using my normal voice. They both shushed me immediately.

"That's easy." Zoro's turn to speak, and he emphasized his position with the click of a sword sliding free from sheathe; "We just cut our way through."

Johnny and Usopp almost tripped over each other in their haste to explain how bad of an idea that was.

"We don't even know why she came here in the first place!" Usopp shrieked, "Has it ever occurred to you that violence isn't always the answer?"

"It's done pretty well for me so far."

Usopp opened his mouth. Then he closed it. Then he sidled over, squatted next to Zoro, and… smacked him lightly right on the chest. All the color drained from the latter's face.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you over the sound of repressed agony. _Could you maybe repeat that_?"

Zoro could not, in fact, repeat that.

"Just… just sit this one out bro," said Johnny, "The less waves we make here the better. I'd say that even if you weren't injured, so please—"

_Wham._

All three of us went quiet. He hadn't spoken, but instead, Zoro had taken hold of his sheath and slammed in the deck.

"I'm fine." He was just barely audible. More worryingly was when, using his sword as a support, Zoro attempted to stand. "Let's go."

"Go where!?"

"To get Nami."

"S-stop, idiot!"

"Dude, seriously, I don't know if my stitches are _that _good," I said hurriedly, but was ignored.

"Zoro, as de facto captain I order you _right now _to sit back down before you do something stupid," Usopp demanded, and was also ignored.

"I said I'm _fine."_

"No! You're not!"

"Look, if you can't listen to reason…" Too late, I noticed Usopp as he rummaged in the pack he'd had the whole time at his side. There was a single exchange of looks between him and Johnny. No words, but the look was apparently all it took. And Zoro didn't sit back down.

The rope was passed in a smooth motion between the two. I had time to gape, but that was about it, as they charged and effectively clotheslined Roronoa Zoro in one single, fluid motion, and… kept looping. He didn't stand a chance, honestly. I didn't like how he stumbled back, though, and especially didn't like when the rope bit into his bandages from the force of the closed loop. Veins bulged in his neck at the impact and an awfully strangled sort of sound issued from between his gritted teeth.

"Ohh, my god," I said as Johnny and Usopp finished where they'd started, this time with bound Zoro stumbling in front of them, arms pinned to his sides.

"_What the hell are you doing?" _Wow, I could almost feel the rage rolling off him in waves, not unlike the waves of steam I was now dispersing just from the anxiety of this all.

"…Let's go around again."

"Agreed."

They went around a few more times. Usopp had a ridiculously long length of rope in his bag. By the time they tied it off, Zoro was thrashing bodily against his restraints as they pushed him back down to the deck, red faced and furious while his arms bulged with fruitless effort.

"You _morons_, let me go!"

…Were they ignoring him? They were totally ignoring him, turning their backs to pour over a map instead.

"Hmm, so Cocoyashi village," Johnny mused. "Probably the best place to start looking. Let's just stay away from Arlong park for now."

"Agreed."

"_I'm going to cut you to pieces if you don't let me go!"_

"I guess we should just follow the coast for now. Something's bound to turn up eventually."

Arlong Park began to shrink with the coastline as we struck out new course. It was somewhat relieving seeing it fade from view, but… Well, my palms were started to feel damp. Damp from— yep, my hands had dissolved partially.

"I'm so sorry about this," I said weakly. The exertion had gotten to Zoro; he was now slumped over and panting, several shades paler than he maybe should be. Usopp glared at me.

"Don't you dare untie him! It's for his own good… Oh!" He gasped, jabbed a finger ahead. "The Merry! There she is!" Sure enough, up ahead was the caravel bobbing in the waves without a care in the world. This… was the first time I was seeing her, come to think of it. Nami had already sailed away the time I arrived in the scene.

"Odd… This isn't near Cocoyashi village, though." Johnny frowned at the map. Usopp, though, was now grinning from ear to ear.

"No, but this is great!" he exclaimed— "This means all we need to do is find Nami! Luck is on our side!"

"You seem awfully cheerful now."

"Why wouldn't I be? We didn't have to go near Arlong Park at all!"

I mean, he had a point. Some of the tension in the air drained away; the others were much more at ease (save for one.) Johnny went around to steer the boat closer, and Usopp planted a firm leg up at the prow in preparation to board, while I— well. I… wasn't really a happy camper.

"Hey." It didn't go unnoticed. "You okay?"

"What makes you ask?" I said… voice slightly higher pitched than I'd like. Johnny'd noticed my increased steam output that, as much I was trying to repress with the right flex, was rolling down my back and arms, trickling out from under my hair.

"That's an awful lot of steam, sis."

"I-I'm just having a little trouble with it right now. No big deal." Big deal. Very big deal. Whereas Usopp was looking ahead at the Merry Go, I was looking more to the side. To the dock. More specifically the three hulking fishmen lounging at the end. It a moment for the others to notice; by then it was too late. Three heads swiveled simultaneously as we glided into their view.

It was almost comical; the boat went dead silent as Usopp and Johnny froze like statues. Even Zoro went still. The only thing not frozen was the boat, which pulled neatly up to the end of the dock and… kept going. The fishmen tracked our movement. Nobody said anything, caught in various stages of surprise.

"…Full speed ahead, Johnny."

"Aye aye, bro."

Zoro's eyes _might _have bugged out of his head if this were a proper manga.

"Why the _hell _aren't you guys stopping?" he roared, the ropes groaning against his renewed struggle.

"Shut up! _Shut up!" _Usopp hissed. He looked about ready to cry which was a Big Mood right now, honestly. "Did you see them there? Those were fishmen! Three of them! We can't take them on! Those are Arlong's pirates! So we're running! You got a problem with that, buddy? Well do you!?"

"Why are you mad? I'm the one who's mad here!"

"Uh, guys…" Nobody was listening to me, which was a shame because I was probably the only one to see the fishmen dive off the end of the dock and into the water.

"This isn't good. The whole island might be under Arlong's control at this point," Johnny muttered as he started pacing the deck. "Not sure what we should do now."

"Hmmm… what a shame about Nami… looks like we can't rescue her after all…"

"Yes, a real shame…"

"Guys," I said again, a little louder. The splashing of approaching fishmen was louder though. Unlike the manga, I didn't actually hear them wonder out loud about the unfamiliar ship sailing through their waters. However, I _did _hear, as did everyone else, the powerful shout across the waves.

"_Stop!"_

…It wasn't that I'd forgotten what was 'supposed' to happen next, just that, well, I just couldn't believe it as Johnny and Usopp turned and swan dived out of the boat. Just. Straight up jumped. Without a word or thought otherwise. And I couldn't join them. because I _couldn't swim._

"Oh," I said, faintly. "They really just did that." Zoro looked about ready to have an aneurysm.

"I'm going to kill them later," he said. Calmly. With feeling. I felt inclined to agree.

Anyway, I wish I had the time to do literally anything else, but really there was only enough time to process the sad betrayal before a meaty hand grasped the edge of a ship, followed by an entire fishman hauling himself up onto the deck. He had a mouth of teeth, jutting up from a wicked overbite. A second emerged from the other side, snickering around his exaggerated fish lips. Both of their expressions changed on seeing the two of us alone on deck. I was thankful the chilly atmosphere had killed my steam— I didn't want to go through that round of questions right now— but, well, now I forced to look up as leering faces looked down on us, cursed with the knowledge that there was currently no way around this.

"Why's there only two of you? Why's he tied up?" rumbled the fishman with the overbite— vaguely piranha like in appearance. I opened to my mouth. I wasn't sure what I was going to say, exactly, but the piranha fishman suddenly let up and pounded one fist into his hand. "Ohh, don't tell me… this some kind of bondage scenario? You guys into that?"

…

HELL.

NO.

"For real? Dang, humans are weird," the other said, scratching his chin. On the bright side, Zoro wasn't pale anymore. On the other hand, it couldn't be healthy to be so red faced either.

"That is. Not it at all. Sir," I choked out, _really really _focusing on not going up in steam to escape this whole situation before it went any further. "Uhh, as you can see… we were actually just abandoned… by a pair of, _pirates_… who also tied up and tortured my associate here… Isn't that right, Zoro?"

"Sure… something like that…" His eye twitched as he forced that one out.

"Ohhh," they collectively went, nodding in unison. Thank god they seemed more ready to accept that rational explanation over. Whatever that last one was.

"So they exiled you here. Ha! Sucks for you guys. Don't you have any idea where you are?" chuckled the other fishman, whose species was a little harder to place. He traded looks with piranha man. "Now what?"

Piranha man shrugged. "Bring them back to Arlong for now, I guess."

"Sounds good to me. You two… sit tight. Especially him!" One last guffaw at that, and then he jumped back over the side.

Moments later the boat jerked as something took hold under the water. The sails were out, and the wind was in our favor, but all that didn't matter as the boat began to turn against the current, and head back the way we had come. Just from the strength of one fishman… piranha man crossed his arms and smirked at us as we picked up speed, heading back up the coast. Well. There was nothing I could do or say now, so as my legs gave way, I let them carry me down to the deck, numbly watching as we were ferried away from the Merry Go, away from Johnny and Usopp as they escaped to Gosa village. That the third fishman went unseen was not lost on me. I almost was resentful.

They'd only have to deal with one fishman, whereas Zoro and I were being pulled straight back to Arlong Park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway I thought a long time on how I was supposed to answer the panda shark conundrum and eventually decided that I wasn't going to. 
> 
> Also hey?? Why did they tie Zoro up so much originally??? Who does that????? Why they gotta make things harder for the poor humble fanfic writer trying to figure out how to factor in this stuff in a reasonable manner?


	7. Chapter 7

The steadily growing presence of Arlong Park instilled a certain sort of panic the closer we sailed.

It also made me realize that in the short time I’d been here, I’d managed to experience several types of unique, situational panic that were applicable only in the conflict that had set them off; this must be how Usopp felt all the time. I almost felt sympathetic, but then I remembered that he’d effectively left us to the wolves (the sharks, if you would,) and I didn’t feel that sorry for him anymore.

The inner gate was closed as we approached. Piranha fishman stuck a foot up on the side of the ship as he leaned forward to bellow to the park beyond; “Oi, open the gates! We’ve got some suspicious folks coming in!” he yelled; while there was no initial response, the gates creaked open. Our ship began to slow, drifting to the side as we passed the gates by, and beyond that… was the entrance pool. And crowd consisting of a whole bunch of fishmen. All of whom turned to watch our boat sailing merrily up.

“Ohhhhh my god,” I mumbled, from lack of anything better to say.

Fishmen were… big. Looking at their cartoonish proportions on page… it sure was easy to not think too hard on how the dimensions translated to real life equivalent, but, well… you notice when everyone around you is easily pushing over eight feet tall. Or have hands big enough to crush your skull like a melon. Not to make light of the teeth, the spines, the— whatever appendage that guy had over that, was there such thing as a sea anemone fishman— and I guess literally everything about fishmen that made them, well, fishmen.

I mean, I think Zoro would manage to take them all out later, wouldn’t he? The physical intimidation factor might just be empty threat display, I don’t know. It sure as hell was intimidating to _me. _Silently, I begged my steam to stay on the down low, if at least to keep things simpler; hopefully my exhaustion, already leaving me in a sore and sluggish state (my impromptu nap and the pass-out before that hadn’t done much— small wonder I was alert still, I was so tired lately) would curb the worst of it. I didn’t want to think what Arlong might do with a defenseless Logia user if the opportunity presented itself.

We docked. The fishman towing us emerged in a shower of seawater; piranha fishman stepped down— I yelped as a very strong hand reached down and lifted me bodily to my feet. His fingers dug into my arm, which mercifully kept its shape, but the grip was like an iron vice, easily circling both my wrists as he wrenched my arms up behind my back. There was nothing I could do against it; my breath hitched in my throat.

“_Hey.”_

Zoro stirred. Though, whatever he thought to do wouldn’t be much— he was still bound tight. Didn’t stop him from shooting an ugly glare up at piranha fishman, currently ‘escorting’ me off the boat to Arlong Park proper.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your turn,” he only snickered, “And you, girly— don’t pull anything smart, you hear?”

“Sure,” I said, hating how my voice wavered. Oddly— as weird as it sounded in my head— it was more out of my nerves than any pain, seeing as how I… wasn’t feeling any pain. I felt… pressure, from my wrists being squeezed, felt my shoulders straining from their sockets in their unnatural position— curse super tall piranha fishman against my short 5’4” height— but currently I didn’t feel any actual _pain. _Instead I just felt uncomfortable, but also… tight? Like any further and something would give alright, but not in the way you’d think. The Logia at work? Did it really go so far as to mitigate this kind of strain? Well… worrisome. It was only because of that, I think, that I wasn’t truly panicking at being so manhandled, a nightmare for any female in any other situation. Or maybe it was just delayed reaction.

Still the chance of things turning bad, mind you, but for now, I swallowed my fear and smiled at Zoro to show it was fine. Sort of. He relaxed, only just; it was his turn to be ‘escorted,’ though with his current state, our second impromptu jailer just lifted him up by the rope and threw him over the edge of the boat. Reflexes kept him from face planting on the concrete. He cursed, but was still upright. I looked worriedly at his bandaging.

“Hey, uh, are you—“ I started, keeping my voice low to avoid too much attention; Zoro responded with a sharp jerk of the head, nixing the subject. Okay then. I guess I’d follow that lead for now, staying silent as the two fishmen who brought us here ‘nudged’ us helpfully along up the walkway. I went for a secondary topic. “Pro tip, whatever you do,” I muttered, “Don’t say anything that, uhh, implies fishmen are anything lesser than human, if you could? Not even as a joke. It’s not a joking situation right now, but just… don’t. Not to this crew.”

“What’s it to you?” Zoro muttered back, “Fine, look, I came to get our crew member back and that’s what I’m going to do. But if they try to keep me, then I fight them. Simple.”

“That’s entirely the wrong attitude to have here seeing as I would really like to not get into a fight with a fishman, and you are _tied up._”

“I didn’t ask you to tag along.”

“You didn’t—I didn’t _ask _to get ditched—“

“Hey, fleshies! Show some _respect!_”

Large hands simultaneously shoved both of us down by the shoulders; my legs buckled and I hit the ground knee-first with a gasp— my knees didn’t ‘blow out’ either. So far, so good...? Zoro grunted as he made impact, wobbling forward before regaining his posture. I glanced at his bandages again. No red… no torn stitches. I then thought, _did that guy just call us fleshies? _as I looked incredulously up and straight into the eye of—

Oh. _Oh. _

I stared straight into disdainful eye of Arlong, and felt very, very small.

You wouldn’t think someone slouched comfortably in a deck chair would be very intimidating, but, ah… this was a first I wish hadn’t happened. There were a lot of firsts I wish hadn’t happened lately; but staring into the face of a fishman as he smiled, revealing rows and rows of serrated, razor sharp teeth—

Sharks had multiple rows of teeth, right. As it turned out, in this world so did Arlong.

When I dropped my gaze, staring at the ground with a pounding heart, Arlong only chuckled, because he’d had the front-row seat to my split-second shiver. Meanwhile, all the other fishmen present had settled themselves around us in a loose half circle; on the steps of the fortress, at the edge of the pool, a couple lounging in a… hot tub. All casual but deceptively so. All were in easy reach should either of us decide to cut and run. Me especially, I imagine; I wasn’t tied up, but I kept my hands planted firmly on my thighs so that no assumptions could be made.

“So.” My skin crawled. He sounded… amused, which only set me on edge. He shifted in his deck chair that might as well have been a throne, for how he spread his presence out. “I have two humans in front of me, who have sailed brazenly in my waters without permission. Exiled, apparently, by your words, but I find that excuse rather lacking.” He crossed one leg over the other, and tapped a webbed finger to his chin. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t take offense and have you executed for trespassing.”

Silence.

_Executed?_ I screamed in my head, for _trespassing??_ What the hell kind of escalation was that? I sure as hell didn’t have anything to offer on the tail-end of _that_. I just stared at the concrete, trying to think of something that wouldn’t come off smart-mouthed or what they might perceive as smart-mouthed—

“Didn’t know it was private property around here. Sorry.”

I snapped my head around because Zoro’s total lack of giving a damn about gave me whiplash and if this were the manga I’d be thudding my forehead against the ground.

“’Sorry?’ That’s it?” If anything, Arlong’s sneer stretched wider, mouth now confirmed for far wider than any mouth had the right to be.

“Yeah, sorry. That’s all I got,” Zoro continued— several fishmen were looking at each other as if to say _is this guy for real? _“—but while we’re at it, you wouldn’t happen to have seen any women sailing through here lately, have you? I’m looking for one in particular.”

A beat.

Arlong burst into an awful, grating sort of laughter.

“You’re looking for someone, are you? And a woman, at that? Hear that one, boys?”

The crowd broke into dutiful snickers; Outwarldy Zoro remained calm in the face of it, but his jaw clenched all the same and I watched as a muscle jumped in his cheek. 

“That was a question, not a joke,” he said stiffly— Arlong physically shook in his deck chair from the force of his chuckles.

“But it’s the best thing I’ve heard all week!” he crowed, throwing back his head as he laughed through his razor sharp teeth, “Looking for a _woman!_ Say I knew this woman in question,” Arlong leaned way forward at this, staring Zoro down right in the eye, “Exactly do you want with her_?_”

“Me? Nothing, personally,” Zoro growled— to his credit he hadn’t even blinked, even with the point of a very long, very sharp nose right in his eye. “Someone wanted me to find her, that’s all. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“I think it’s very much my business when the Pirate Hunter himself is nosing around in _my_ waters, _human.”_

The laughter petered out— my stomach dropped. Oh shit, Arlong recognized Zoro. Knew his reputation, anyway, and that was news to me— I didn’t remember anything like that from the book. I frantically side-eyed to see if this had thrown him off at all, but Zoro seemed unruffled, if a little tenser than he had been seconds ago.

“I’ve retired from bounty hunting. I’m not interested in you or anyone else here,” he said without missing a beat

“Heh. I don’t believe you,” Arlong fired right back, “As if I’d trust a bounty hunter in my park! What do you think? You got through my gates, and now you’re right where you wanted to be— was that your pathetic little plan? Do you honestly think you’re a _match,” _he said this with a savage sort of snarl, throwing an arm out in display of everyone gathered, “Against the might of the Fishman Pirates?”

I thought he’d rise to the bait, I really did. Zoro was growing alarmingly red in the face. His temper was rising, obviously, but somehow his voice was still calm and controlled as he leaned right back into Arlong’s personal space.

“Maybe you need to get your hearing checked,” he said lowly, “I don’t think you heard me. I said I’m interested in a _woman, _and definitely not some long-nosed, fish-faced _fr—“_

Oh shit I recognized this! Belatedly a whole piece of manga conversation leapt to mind and I _absolutely _could not let Zoro finish that sentence if it was anyway related to my memory. Never mind that I was under the close scrutiny of a couple sharp-eyed fishmen, all of whom flinched at my sudden movement as my unbound arm snapped out and elbowed him right in the ribs. _Hard. _

…maybe too hard. Zoro choked, mouth snapping shut and I anxiously hoped he hadn’t bit his tongue. He also seized in place as he rode out whatever pain I’d accidently inflicted and yeah I was going to apologize the first chance I got, but unfortunately Arlong’s attention swung square back to me. He lazily waved back the nearby fishmen who’d remained tense; probably ready to fishpile me if I lunged for him next…

“…What my, um… what my friend here means to say,” I said— I was trembling. My voice was shaky, and my mouth was bone-dry. Maybe I shouldn’t have referred to Zoro as a friend because maybe I’d be pegged as a bounty hunter too, I don’t know, shit shit _shit— “_Is that we really are very sorry for barging in like this. But, uh, we, uh— he? Really would just like to speak to a human woman who… who, uh, has some things of his? And I think there was a misunderstanding of some sort. Sir.” I added the title as an afterthought. Somehow, though, I didn’t think it’d sit as well with Arlong as it did Mihawk.

“And who are you supposed to be?” he asked. He sounded… way more unimpressed with me than he did Zoro, damn him.

“…would you believe me if I said I was just an innocent bystander pulled into this by despicable pirates, who would like to peacefully resolve things with no harm done?” I asked carefully.

“No.”

“Ah.”

I side-eyed Zoro for backup. What I got was a furious glare as he wheezed under his breath, “… you _bitch…” _

Aw, no, shit, that was an unkind word to say to the person who’d sewn up his life-threatening wound and was desperately trying to save him from saying things he’d never be able to take back to the guy who could snap his neck with a pinky finger. I looked a little helplessly back to Arlong and… shrugged a bit? Why?? Like he’d be _helpful_??

“Right, I can’t watch this anymore.”

A female voice, cutting through all the madness and accompanied by the _klack _of hard sole against stone tiles— the fishmen around here all wore sandals or went barefoot. Oh, so this was— so this had to _be_—

“Nami?” Zoro wheezed, wobbling back upright as the lady in question came stalking into view, sidestepping Arlong easily and without a care in the world. Like she belonged right at home here… which, she’d sort of been for the last several years of her life, duh. I was… excited for a second. This was Nami! Nami was here! One of my favorite characters, and maybe someone who would finally _help _us out of this ridiculous scenario—

Is what I thought, anyway. I’d forgotten myself. For all that I looked up, eager and hopeful for a friendly face, instead I found a cold, expressionless face that bypassed me entirely like I wasn’t even there. Something less that than the tiles under her feet. And that… hurt, a bit, even though it was all an act and I _knew _that already, but… I was still afraid, and shrunk quietly back.

“Oh, so you do know them?” Arlong said, grinning wickedly, and Nami huffed. Rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, tossed back her hair as she stared down at Zoro and I.

“As if,” she said, “This guy’s just my last victim. Got a _ton_ of money from him, too. Guess he decided to actually follow me all this way. What a loser.” She paused, looked at me. “I’ve never seen _her _before in my life. What, she another charity case?” A cheap shot at Luffy, probably, which I resented, but alas. 

“_You _know these guys?” Zoro’s voice was admirably level as Nami knelt to his height, smirking as she looked him right in the eye.

“About that…” she said, “…sorry, but I was a pirate _way _before we met. In fact, I’m an officer of the Arlong Pirates. Get it? I never intended to join a third-rate crew like yours.”

Arlong burst into laugther— full on, ugly laughter, even more gleefully harsh than before as he slapped his knee.

“How rich!” he boomed to the whole court, “She had you hook, line, and sinker, _shahaha—“_ Oh that was… a laugh, huh— “Indeed, why would she join anyone else when she has the might of the Fishman Pirates at her back?”

The fishmen around us were snickering again. Zoro was locked in some kind of staring contest with Nami, who hadn’t dropped her smirk, but she’d been keeping it up for a while now...

“Last I checked you were pretty human,” he said.

“That’s where you’d be wrong,” Arlong sneered, “As if I’d let just any human join my crew. Nami, though? _She’s _special, because she’s as vicious as any fishman in her own right! Seeing as how she’d do anything for the right price, including _pardoning the death of her own mother.”_

Ah.

There it was.

Nami, still kneeling in front of us, still smirking, still pretending like everything was fine and dandy and we were the ones stupid enough to fall for it, was as still and quiet as if she’d been carved from stone. Her smile was fixed, stretched too tight for too long, and there probably wasn’t any good way at all for her to hide the strain from doing so. She didn’t blink once.

It was Zoro who finally did. Blinked, that is, and let all the rigid tension drain out of his shoulders. It now seemed as if he, too, didn’t have a care in the world, and Nami was unsettled by this, her stony smile finally slipping.

“So that’s it.” The fishmen quieted, as did Arlong. Zoro lazily inclined his head, looking past Nami entirely as he spoke to Arlong. “You know what? I’m not even surprised.”

“Oh?” Arlong said, just as lazily.

“Nah. I never trusted her from the start. Always figured she’d be just another useless woman—“

“Rude,” I mumbled sullenly—

“—so this? This is just icing on the cake.”

Nami looked at him for a moment longer, and if his callous words affected her at all, she didn’t show it this time. When she stood, she was smiling, but a closed smile that seemed as much a smile as it was a grimace.

“Great. So you get it,” she said, instead of… I don’t know, getting angry or defensive as maybe a normal person might (not that there were a whole lot of normal people here.) “Look, make things easier on yourself and just give it up, okay? _You _lost. _I _won. I’m not your navigator, and I’m not your nakama. _You_ are an eyesore. Why don’t you just disappear and make it easier for_ me_?” 

Zoro laughed quietly under his breath.

“Sure,” he said, as if he were otherwise casually remarking on something like the weather—

Then he bodily kicked himself backwards into the ocean.

There was a _splash _as he hit the water— the weirdest reverse belly-flop because he went in back first instead— and sank out of view in a small explosion of foamy water and trailing bubbles. Silence, as he didn’t surface, and everyone witnessing processed this in their own time, probably wrapping their head around what just happened. It’s definitely what I did, going through surprise, shock, remembrance, anger, then _fear— _“ZORO!”

Never mind Arlong. Never mind the pirates and Nami standing frozen in place, I moved— the first to do so— scrambling to the edge of the pool, scraping my knees on the concrete in my haste. Oh, god, I was an _idiot, _I’d forgotten _this _in the heat of the moment? Not that I knew what I could have done, if I _should _have done anything at all, just as long as I could have done something—

Oh.

I stopped with one foot on the edge, ready to jump and do precisely that. Something. But as I stared into the dark water, barely making out my panicked face in the surface and listening to my heart pounding in time to the rising pressure under my skin… I remembered. 

The murmurs of the fishmen rose around me, uneasy and bewildered. One fishman wondered if he’d slipped on a banana peel, another asked in a hushed whisper if it was suicide attempt. Humans couldn’t swim with their arms bound tight, right? Above all, I heard Arlong, sharp and derisive as he sneered— “Just let him_ drown.”_

A fist seized a handful of fabric from the collar of my shirt and yanked, viciously. Spinning around I found myself face to face with a very, _very _angry Nami.

“What are you _doing?”_ She wasn’t screaming, not quite, but it was a near thing. Was she shaking? She might have been shaking. She definitely was shaking _me, _kind of funny because Nami was younger and smaller and more slender than I was but it definitely didn’t stop her from holding me tight with terrifying strength, all but spitting in my face. “Are you just going to _sit_ there? Aren’t you going to jump _after him_!?”

“I—“ I stuttered, because I wanted to. I did, I really did, but the water— the sight of the surface, the gentle waves lapping against the wall, so casual and innocent… I hesitated, too long again, and I couldn’t find it in me to answer her in a way that would e_xplain— _

Nami made an angry, wordless cry the longer I froze, a truly awful noise that betrayed all her panic and frustration. It was when she near-shoved me, though, still holding tight to my shirt but almost pushing me over the edge when I panicked— I latched onto her arm, hyperventilating as my balance tilted precariously towards the ocean’s surface.

“_Don’t!”_ I cried, “Don’t, don’t, I _can’t!”_

“Can’t what?” Still right in my face, we wavered on the edge, something both comical and horrifying and I wondered how it looked to Arlong and all the others on the outside.

“I-I can’t—“

“Can’t _what?”_

“I can’t _swim!”_ I was desperate. There were tears in my eyes, I think, because it was all coming back— the water, the pressure, the inability to move a muscle as I _sank_ and watched my own breath rise to the surface where I couldn’t even raise a hand to pull _myself _up—

That moment… I hadn’t forgotten. It was all still _there. _If Mihawk hadn’t saved me I would have drowned and everything would have been over. And now that same handicap was preventing me from saving one of the few people I really, truly wanted to save.

A wild-eyed Nami loosed her grip, some of the anger wiped away, but her face hardened again in a different emotion as a single word slipped out from under her breath— “_Fuck!”_

She shoved me aside— not overboard, thank god— kicked off her heels, and swan dove neatly into the water. Leaving me to watch _her _resulting stream of bubbles rise, and dwindle slowly away.

…

It was quiet. The fishmen still murmured. Oh, I was completely alone with them now-- I didn’t want to look up. I _really _didn’t want to turn around and come face to face with Arlong again, _alone. _He hadn’t said anything, not even watching Nami dive into the water. Most of the fishmen I could see were uneasy, shuffling back and forth in place, whispering to each other, but not one lifted a finger or made to jump in after their so-called crew mate. I wonder if there was some sort of test happening here. No one was… surprised, I think, not really. Shocked, sure, but also grim. Or derisive, if I read a few of them right.

Seconds were trickling away. No one was surfacing. Oh god, I’d messed everything up, hadn’t I? I’d ran, I’d hesitated, I’d prevented Nami from jumping right away because she figured someone else would do it instead— Oh no, had I killed Zoro inadvertently? Shaved away precious time that Nami should have used searching for him? Was he _drowning? _

“No, no, no,” I whispered under my breath, and wrapped my arms tight around myself. Partly for comfort, and partly because, well… I could feel myself coming apart at the seams. The steam was rising up inside me, threatening to burst, and I felt altogether too tight. But no— _no— _not here, not now, stupid steam!

It had to be more than a minute gone now. Two minutes? Three? How long had it been? How long could a human hold their breath? Was this four minutes gone, now? What was I going to do if both Zoro _and _Nami just straight-up drowned because of my stupid presence— What would I tell Luffy??

In minutes that felt like hours, my heart seemed to stop altogether, then stutter to a start again as two figures finally— _finally— _breached the surface of the pool, far off down at the end. The fishman voiced their own thoughts on this, irritated and suspicious. I, on the other hand, tested my luck and scrambled up, wobbling around (keeping well away from the water) as I ran/speed walked to where Nami was… shaking a prone Zoro. So he _had _been affected by the delay? By how much? Was he conscious?? I picked my pace—

Nami slapped him upside the head with the back of her hand. Zoro started coughing up water. Oh. Okay then. That worked, I guess. She obviously wasn’t happy, and Zoro was smirking, I think they were saying something if I remembered correctly— oh shit, my eyes popped wide in alarm as Nami stood and ground her heel directly into Zoro’s back in a way that could _not _be good for his stitches, and his sharp cry of pain said as much.

“Stop! Hey, stop!” I yelled, waving my arms and running up just in time for her to also land a vicious kick to the ribs. “Why are you so violent, oh my god?”

“Why am I _violent?_“ I stopped, mostly because Nami was red-faced with eyes ablazing, daring me to come closer. “What’s it to you? Who the hell are you, anyway? Stay out of things you don’t understand!”

None of this was going the way I would have liked things to happen. Not that I’d ever really thought about it. But first there was Arlong… then there was Zoro being a moron in such a way that I couldn’t help him even though I wanted. And now I was being chewed out by the Straw Hats’ navigator and I don’t know, I was probably still teary-eyed and shaking but I was also _mad _and so help me if there was at least some way I could make this situation a little better_. _

“Why do you think he’s covered in bandages, you idiot?” I yelled back, trembling but forcing it out anyway, “Just—stop it, stop making things worse! Can’t you see he’s obviously in—“

“Shut _up, _Kirsten!”

I stopped, slamming my mouth shut as Zoro of all people yelled at me now— even in his obvious distress. Nami seemed a little surprised too. I was torn between getting mad at him now for scaring me, and realizing that oh—he’d actually said my name in doing so. That was the wind out of my sails either way so I hovered awkwardly, looking back and forth between the two and feeling _really _lost in all this now.

“But—“ I started— I don’t know, wouldn’t it be better if Nami knew about his injuries? How could it make things worse? I faltered under Zoro’s singular glare, though, as Nami stalked away and past me without a second glance.

“You heard her,” he wheezed— “S_tay out of things you don’t understand.”_

Oh.

That did hurt. I stared at the ground, biting my trembling lip as I heard a singular conversation somewhere behind me, simple and to the point.

“What’re you gonna do with them now, Nami?” said a fishman, answered with something close to a snarl; Nami was at her limit, I think, of all this nonsense, as she answered back— “Just throw them _both _in the brig—

“_I’ll _deal with them later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2020!!!!!!!!!! The I make it to the Grand Line probably!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This chapter alternately titled 'Nami's terrible, horrible, really very frustrating afternoon.' I like Nami, I really do, but she's going through a lot in life at this point in time, really.
> 
> If this fic is rated T then I'm probably legally allowed one major swear per chapter


	8. Chapter 8

Yeah, so, they threw us in the brig.

I mean, it was a dungeon. They still called it the brig, even though this wasn’t a ship, but whatever. A world made up of islands probably had rampant sailing terminology for even non-sailing situations. So, dungeon, brig, fine. Things probably couldn’t get worse. Not after all of… That. Getting yelled at by two separate Straw Hats, fishmen everywhere, _Arlong… _Yes, first I’d been scared, trying not to cry, getting over my water-panic and Zoro’s stupid suicide ploy. Then I’d gotten mad, over everything I couldn’t control. Then I found myself just pissed off at, well… anything, really.

“I hate you.”

Ah. It slipped out, and I was starting up again, but my passionate, frustration-laced confession of hate was met with tepid response. That is to say, Zoro probably didn’t even blink.

“Mm,” was all he said, not even phased; as he shouldn’t be. I’d been spouting similar phrases for awhile now.

“I _hate _you,” I said with a little more emphasis, and he yawned.

“Noted.”

God, okay, I was losing steam. Now he was just sounding indulgent, which was… not what I was going for. I wasn’t sure what I actually wanted out of this, granted. I was in it for a reaction, sure, but definitely not the bored kind he was currently giving. At least I knew he was awake and listening.

The fishmen couldn’t even throw us in the dungeon and call it good, no; they’d decided a little more security was in order. Zoro was still tied, obviously, but not only were _my _hands now lashed together, they’d gone the extra mile and had tied _the two of us together, _leaving me back-to-back with Roronoa Zoro, unable to move an inch because if I strained at the heavy ropes around my middle, I also strained at the ropes tight around his own middle. Mainly where his huge impossible sword injury conveniently happened to be. So, just perfect. This was fine. Just one more issue to add to the pile.

Yep— tied up, with someone who counted as several whole issues alone, in the dungeon. Brig.

“God _dammit!” _ Aaand there it was, me getting fired up all over again. Kinda wanted to throw myself down and have a good temper tantrum or something, get a few good punches at the ground in, but… I couldn’t really do that right now, not to mention the hit I’d probably take to my image. What I _could _do was vent. Downside: the only person to vent to was my fellow prisoner. Upside: at least I could let him know _exactly _how I felt about this immediate situation, using strong verbal cues so he’d get the idea. I could also stew, but that was boring and just led to me suffering in silence.

Zoro used a free moment to yawn loudly again.

“Do you think you’ll be done anytime soon, or…?” he said in a bored tone, “Trying to get some sleep here.”

“_Sleep_?” I shrieked.

“That a no?”

“Is that a— well, _gee, _don’t let me inconvenience you on my account,” I snapped, “Sleep? Right now? We’re tied up, in a pirate dungeon, and the potential help swam away at the first sign of trouble, so I don’t think anyone knows we’re down here! It smells like rotten fish. A mouse ran by my foot like twenty minutes ago. And you’re— you’re trying to s_leep? _I don’t _get _you!”

“Not sure what you want me to do about it.”

“I don’t expect you to _do_ anything, seeing as how you’re most of the reason we’re down here, asshole.”

“Yeah, well, you shouldn’t have tagged along then.”

I shouldn’t have tagged along? _I _shouldn’t have tagged along? I saw _red. _

“Roronoa Zoro, I am going to _kick _your ass_!_” It slipped out before I could really think that through, but once it left my mouth I found myself meaning it. Was I down for throwing hands with the Pirate Hunter at the first given opportunity? Yes. Yes I was. I _did_ get his attention, but not in the way I really wanted.

“Oh?” _Oh. _I could _feel _the smug grin radiating off him. He didn’t think I could do it, the bastard. I had to tack something else onto the threat for good measure, show him I was the boss here. Time for a canon classic.

“Yeah, I am, marimo,” I hissed, and the smug feeling promptly disappeared.

“…What’d you call me?”

“Called you a mossball. No, wait, let’s go with mosshead, because, you know—”

“You seriously asking for a fight? You’ll lose.”

“Want to _bet_?” Wait, maybe I shouldn’t outright antagonize him.

“Fine. Try it.” Well, he was on the same undercurrent of frustration I was on— success! Sort of. And… maybe I was being incredibly petty right now. Probably. It was hard to stop when I was already ahead.

“Oh, don’t worry, I remember your stitches,” I said tersely, “So I’ll keep it simple— just a punch. Right in your stupid face. And it _will _be your face because then you’ll get to see it coming and know exactly what it’s about. How’s that, huh?”

“Sure. Bring it. If you actually can land a punch I’ll _let_ you do it. It’d serve me right for letting some girl get the jump on me.”

“Wow! That’s incredibly misogynistic of you! A girl was kicking the shit out of you not too long ago, Mr. I’m-gonna-bellyflop-in-the-ocean-with-my-arms-tied-together!”

“That’s not what I— Wait, is that it? Is that what you’re pissed about?”

What? That wasn’t the conversation route I was expecting. I was all caught up in the euphoria of violent emotional release that his genuine confusion threw me off a little, leaving me soundlessly working my mouth a bit as I wrapped my head around that tidbit. It… sure was hard, having a heated conversation with someone when neither of us were face to face.

“I mean— yeah, of course I’m mad about that?” I said, flustered, “You _threw _yourself in the _water. _Like an _idiot._ What was I supposed to do? _Not _panic?” He didn’t say anything; I shook my head a little and carried on. “What if, um,” Heck— no, wait, she’d been name dropped, I wouldn’t worry about familiarity by now— “What if Nami didn’t jump in after you? What then? I can’t swim! I couldn’t have saved you! You didn’t hear Arlong, he said to just let you drown! They’d have let you die!”

I took a deep breath, because I was shaking all over— faint tremors, whether from fear or anger… hell, maybe just exhaustion even, because there had been too many things going on in such a short amount of time. I felt hot, too, hot and stretched all over but now was _not _the time, devil fruit.

“It wasn’t any of your business,” Zoro said finally, and I just groaned at that. 

“Oh for—” I mumbled, “God, you’re so stupid. Of course it’s my business. Like, just the other day you were bleeding out in front of me and it wasn’t any of my damn business then, was it? Do you think I’m someone who just ignores things like that? I’m just a random hitchhiker, fine, I can live with that, but I’m not just gonna— of course I wouldn’t— ugh! I sewed your skin back together! And you just ignore that! Moron! That’s why I hate you right now! Don’t be so… _casual _about it!”

And that was about as much as I felt like going into. I settled back with a huff, in time to notice my bare skin gently radiating steam— ah, I really was venting in more ways than one.

Zoro was silent for a long while again. I wished I could get a read on him— again, it was hard not being able to pick up on the cues one normally would when angrily conversing with others. There was probably a lot more beneath the surface of what I was feeling right now, and… I guess I couldn’t let all out on him at once.

I could still be generally angry, though, and that he wasn’t saying anything was making me nervous.

“Yeah, anyway,” I said, “Gonna kick your ass for being stupid. It’ll be when you least expect it, I swear to god.” Huh. I couldn’t say that with the same heat as before. As for Zoro, well…

“If you can,” He said, and… I think he was smug about it again? Almost… amused? But why!?

“Well, just you wait. The moment I’m out of this rope— watch out,” I said, irritated by yet another mood shift. I didn’t understand this guy at all.

“I was wondering about that,” he said.

“About what?”

“Why you’re still there?”

“Um… because I’m tied up?” I deadpanned— “Last I checked, so were you.”

“Yeah, but you can turn into steam, right? Why haven’t you just slipped out of it yet or something?”

…

…

……………………………………… Ah. The sound of the train of thought coming to an absolute screeching halt in my head as I bounced that around. The only thing I could say in response— “_What_.”

…actually, it was a good thing I couldn’t see his face. I didn’t want to know what expression he had on right now.

“You mean… you didn’t…”

“Do not say another word,” I said in monotone, then drew my knees up to my face so I could have a good, long, muffled screaming session. Zoro waited patiently for me to finish.

“Okay,” I said, still face first in my knees, “Say I did that— assume that was the plan all along. How do we proceed from there?”

“I need my sword back,” said Zoro matter-of-fact, truly a man of singular focus. The fishmen had unsurprisingly taken Wado Ichimonji somewhere.

“That’s a given, got it.” Hm… I was hesitant to think from there. Because, well… Nami was supposed to come down here eventually, right? Steam aside, I hadn’t really considered escape, because I think I’d been… unconsciously resigned to waiting for scheduled events. It’d been an hour, though, and… well, I’d made her really mad, hadn’t I? Not intentionally. But— if I’d messed things up— if I’d thrown things off course, if she waited too long—

“And after that?” I pushed on. Just in case.

“I’ll need to find Usopp,” Zoro said, though he grumbled at the same time. We still had some sore feelings there. “Probably shore up until Luffy gets here. He could probably talk some sense into that damn navigator better than me. If I had a crack at Arlong, though, I could probably take him out…”

_No, you could not, _I did not say, and just drew a shaky breath.

“There are a lot of in-betweens I’m not hearing, but we can work that out as we go, I guess,” is what I decided to say otherwise. “About the steam thing, uh… I don’t really. Know how to do that?”

“What? Just do the thing and slip out. Easy.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you’d eaten a devil fruit in the last hour that also made you a human-shaped bag of gas? Please, tell me all about it, sir,” I said sweetly back, and if he wasn’t rolling his eyes I was gonna be disappointed.

“Shut up.”

“You first.”

“Woman, I swear—“

“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled, rolling my own eyes to the heavens for guidance, and then I stared down at my bound hands and tried to work out just exactly what I should do here. So— steam. Just, turn to steam and slip out. If I were more, say, elemental in nature I probably could have done something to the ropes themselves, but steam, that wouldn’t do anything physical to them. Slipping out, though? That was possible. As a logia, I knew that was something I _could _do. But, uh, the ropes were tight around my wrists and that meant slipping out of them would involve deforming the actual shape of my hands themselves and something inside me balked at the thought.

Okay, needed to change things up. I needed to think from a different, more helpful angle; what did I have to work off of here? Well… Smoker could absolutely do it, to start, as one of the few points of reference I had when it came to similar power sets. I hadn’t thought of him at all since the very start of this whole thing, and maybe now was the time to do so.

(Caesar Clown could also technically do it but he wasn’t a very good role model so I’d stick with the previous.)

That still only left me with vague memories of black and white pages, though. I knew he could… turn into smoke, and manipulate how he did so. He also poured it out of his hands and stuff, implying a certain amount of area control over the thing he turned into. Eh. Okay, this wasn’t super helpful. All I had under my belt was the small amount of time I had experimenting before we’d gotten here…

‘Muscles,’ then. Frowning, I tensed the controllable muscles in my arms, took a deep breath, and triggered that mysterious extra reflex that could turn my forearms from the elbow down into an approximately-shaped bank of steam. On the plus side, it worked! A tiny triumph that I now had this bit of control, no matter how small.

On the down side, the rope was still tied around my steam-formed wrists.

“Well, that didn’t work,” I said faintly.

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Ugh. My arms were still that— _arm shaped. _And… the rope hadn’t turned into steam either? But my clothes… with a grumble, I shifted my arms back to their solid state, glaring at the rope remaining snugly in place. Okay. Okay, so, I just had to somehow… slip out of the rope. Again, involving changing the actual shape of my hands? Could I really do that? Of course I could do that… Back to steam I went. It was strange; it almost felt like phantom limb syndrome, or at least what I’d heard about it, and the fact that my arms were still, uh, there. Just not solid.

Maybe I could. Maybe I could just tip my arms and kind of, slide out. I’d have to struggle with my other bindings, but it would be a start. I stared a moment more, then stretched them out in preparation to do just that. My thought: maybe I could shrink _back _through the rope instead of pushing the rope _off. _

What actually happened: my eyes bugging out as my hands floated across the room at the end of a wobbling line of steam, rope included.

I yelped, everything snapped back into shape— _rope included— _and Zoro swore as my violent flinch disrupted the tight binding around our torsos.

“What happened?”

“I-I’m sorry, it’s weird!” I stammered, “I can’t _do _it, arms don’t stretch like that!”

“What are you talking about? Luffy does it all the time.”

“That isn’t—“ I stopped, shook my head back and forth. “Okay, new plan. Do you think we could stand?”

Short answer, we could, but it wasn’t fun. It took a surprising amount of effort and the world’s most awkward crab walk. Thank god nobody came to investigate the sounds made in the process, and by the end of it Zoro was most definitely not in a good mood.

“What now?” he said, through probably gritted teeth.

“I’m not sure, but I’m gonna try and…. Shimmy out or something?” I said meekly. It sounded better than watching my arms _do that_. What muscle, exactly, controlled activation of my main body? Seconds ticked by as I considered this. Maybe not a muscle, actually, because thinking back to the very first minutes of my eating the fruit, it hadn’t been a muscle so much that set me off, right? No, maybe this time I should focus more on the… pressure of it. The pressure that, even now, maintained a steady pulse under my skin.

Totally exploding, I wasn’t so keen on, but just enough to get out of the rope and reform…?

Another steady breath, and I did what I hadn’t tried since the first time I had; I reached for that pulsing point inside of me and, for a lack of a better word, _released. _

It… was like a valve was opened somewhere, as steam began pouring out from under my shirt. Small mercies, I didn’t dissolve as entirely as I did back on that tiny island out in the ocean, but I was definitely feeling a lot less, substantial, than I did just seconds ago. Meanwhile, Zoro’s back stiffened behind mine.

“What? What’s up?”

“It's hot,” he said shortly. Oh, yeah, steam could do that.

“Sorry,” I said meekly, dashing my plans again that involved wiggling down through the rope. I didn’t want to burn my fellow prisoner here. Something was happening here, though, and I had to work with that— right. Right, logia users could do this, dissolve their legs and leave their torsos floating. That sounded terrifying, actually. Maybe, though, I could just walk on _through _the rope and let my body come back on the other side! Yeah, that sounded doable! Now, I wasn’t sure that the steam that made up my body could truly separate, but if I moved, maybe the rest would just follow and reform around itself.

Had to take a step for that, though. Deeper breath. Acutely aware of the tension of the rope, nonetheless I tried to ignore its presence, and willed myself forward. Just a few steps, that was all— I knew something was wrong when the rope still tugged resolutely at my middle. My legs stopped, unable to move forward. However…

…my top half didn’t get the memo. 

That was how I found my entire torso sliding off at the waist, over the rope, connected by tendrils of steam as I floated over the ground in a manner that was not at all something I could really stomach. Even more so as I stared in terror at the movement, fixing on the ground and the height I was floating at, therefore causing my body to tip forward. I wasn’t falling, but I… was… _tilting._

_“Noooo!” _

I might have overreacted a bit. All I wanted to do was _not _fall. In a panic I looked around the room looking for anything to catch myself on, anything at all, but there was nothing here but four walls and a door. The wall! I had to brace myself! But it was too far, even as I desperately reached out in a vain attempt to reach, somehow ended up _over _reaching—

“What the hell are you doing?” Zoro, hearing my screech, probably feeling something happening, made as if to try and turn around, threatening my precarious balance.

“Don’t! Don’t turn around!” I said in a panic, trying really hard not to otherwise cry or make a fool out of myself any more than I had.

Torso: floating.

Hands: on the wall.

Arms: stretched way farther than arms had the right to go, again.

Yes. I’d effectively utilized my steam-steam power to keep myself upright in the most ridiculous manner ever, as my arms hissed and spat and kept my hands firmly propelled across the room to keep the rest of me from doing anything else it wasn’t supposed to. While my legs trembled from the awkward strain. And I was _still_ tied up.

Naturally that’s when Nami opened the cell door and saw the whole mess playing out in front of her. I swiveled around to look at her, no doubt a little wild-eyed as I blurted out “It’s not what it looks like!” Even though it was… really exactly what it looked like, yeah.

She said nothing. She closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose.

“I’m going to close the door and count to ten,” she said in an even, reasonable tone of voice, “and when I open it again I don’t want to see _anyt_hing out of place that shouldn’t be. Am I clear?”

She closed the door.

It was the fastest reset I’ll never be able to properly explain. When Nami opened the door again, all she found was the two of us sitting quietly back to back and somehow it went unspoken that we would never talk of this again.

Nami exhaled, and drew a knife out of somewhere.

“Woah,” I said, jerking back against Zoro as she loomed overhead, but the knife wasn’t meant for us. It was the ropes that hit the floor in a twisted pile, cut through neatly by the razor sharp edge.

“Arlong’s out,” she said shortly. “Get out of here. Don’t come back. Don’t thank me.”

“You sure you want to do this?” Zoro said, after silently watch the rope around our hands cut away. Nami sneered, but otherwise responded by throwing a familiar sword down at his feet— Wado Ichimonji.

“I don’t care what you do, just… _go,_” she said, and… left. Her footsteps faded away at a rapid pace.

Well. That happened. I guess I shouldn’t have doubted Nami after all.

“…Now what?” I asked the silence. That had all been a bit anti-climactic, and it left me at odd ends. Zoro had no such reservations. He picked up his sword, shook off the sever ropes and stretched to the tune of several cracking bones, getting out all kinks that had been accumulating. Geez, yeah he’d been tied up longer than I had, no thanks to Usopp and the others.

“_That’s _better,” He said loudly, and I flinched before I could stop myself. We were free now, but still in a base full of fishmen. What if they heard!?

“Yeah, but now what?” I repeated, trying to keep my voice steady.

“She said I could do what I wanted,” He said with a shrug, “She seemed like she was in a hurry, though. I’ll give her a head start.”

“I’m not really sure that’s what—”

“I’m all stiff, too,” He just interrupted, “Need a workout.”

He waited only just long enough for me to catch my breath a little; rub at my wrists even though there wasn’t a trace of rope burn. Anyway, Zoro’s idea of waiting wasn’t terribly long in the end. All too soon he made for the door. I scrambled up and rushed to follow for lack of anything better to do. We were still in a dungeon, not like I was just going to keep sitting there.

Nami must’ve really been rushing, because we didn’t run into her. It wasn’t quite a maze in Arlong’s base, but they weren’t much on decoration here and only a few short flights later we hit the ground floor, without running into a single fishman in between. I stuck close, because between the two of us Zoro was the one with the sword and the know-how on using it, but when we reached a large set of heavy iron doors, and beyond filtered the sound of waves and the general hubbub of a courtyard of pirates, Zoro stopped.

“You better wait here,” he said.

“What—“ I said eloquently back, but stopped, because he was blocking me from moving forward with his sword.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” 

There was a soft hiss of steel on steel as he drew his sword.

“_Oh,” _ I said faintly. That’s… right. That was it exactly. There was a whole courtyard of fishmen pirates out there.

“Don’t come out until I say so,” Zoro said— His manner had changed again. Shifted into something darker, more serious. There was a glint in his eye. I nodded, but there was a lump in my throat. _A whole courtyard of fishmen. _

“Isn’t three swords more your thing?” I said lamely, as he moved to open the great iron doors.

“For these guys? One will be enough,” he said, and slipped out without another word.

Frozen in place, there was nothing at first. Then shouts. Then more shouts, some raucous laughter…

Then screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> half outpouring of feelings, a dash of nonsense, and a pinch of 'oh yeah they don't call him pirate hunter for nothing.'
> 
> Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I know SI's are a coin toss on whether or not it's someone's cup of tea, but I'm glad that you folks enjoyed the dramatic nonsense Kirsten found herself dropped in. I'll never say that characters have to go through hell just to keep up, but they also don't necessarily have to get along famously... I like trying to find that happy middle (or happy as that middle can be lmao.) There's always something bumpy that'll need to be smoothed a bit.
> 
> And hey, I hope everyone's staying healthy out there. Thanks for continuing to read this adventure, hope this'll cheer up some of the folks in quarantine.


	9. Chapter 9

I was against the wall when Zoro came back. Crouching low, staring fixedly at the floor. My hands were firmly over my ears— doing my very best to block out the screaming, but I guess I was so focused on _not _paying attention that now it was actually over, it took a tap to my leg from the sheath of his sword that snapped me out of it. I looked up wordlessly, blinking. Processing the lack of outside noise.

“I’m done,” was all he said. Tucking his sword into his sash, he turned and strode back out, hands laced behind his head. I didn’t follow right away; I just watched his back as he went, dimly noting that he’d finally picked up a shirt to wear over his bandages— a floral Hawaiian number. Haha, now we sort of matched. It almost helped me ignore the strange twist in my gut that really felt before until now— something that hadn’t been there this whole time I’d been around him. But I couldn’t squat in a pirate stronghold forever, I guess, so I stood, shook the pins and needles out of my legs, and dragged them uncooperatively forward.

Surprise, surprise— there were bodies littering the concrete outside. Lots of them. An entire compounds’ worth, and of course there were, who _else _would have been screaming and making such a din as I stayed hidden inside? I could… smell blood. I mean… it wasn’t a massacre, there weren’t trails of gore splattered everyone. Zoro wasn’t that kind of swordsman, _obviously. _But, here and there, splashes of red— there was a fishman only a few feet away from me, motionless on the ground. Had… there been blood on Zoro’s sword? No, it was sheathed— where did he clean it? On his newly acquired shirt, carelessly on some downed enemy before he came to get me…?

“Are they dead?”

Zoro paused, only a few steps off. He didn’t turn around. Right away I wished I hadn’t said it, biting my tongue and looking at the ground again. It was better than literally anywhere else. To my own horror, I found that distinction included Zoro himself.

“Would it bother you if they were?”

His words were light. If he was judging me, I couldn’t tell, which made it all the worse.

“They would have killed us,” I said, sliding past a question I didn’t have the answer to— “And they’d have been happy about it, I mean. Probably. They wouldn’t even hesitate if Arlong said so. And— they’ve done worse, I know they have, on this island, and lots of other islands around here— Arlong’s got a bounty of what, twenty million bucks? You don’t earn that for nothing.” I laughed, but it rang hollow. I stopped laughing. “God, I’m— sorry. That was a stupid question. I don’t mean to, um, put you on the spot. I-I’m just, god…”

I scrubbed at my face. I wasn’t about to cry or anything, I wasn’t really— but right now, there were a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head. Dumped right on top of everything else. Zoro was a swordsman. He was a _bounty hunter. _I knew this. I’d _known_ this. But still… still…

“I’m not used to this,” I finished lamely, with another shaky laugh. At a lack of what to do with my arms, I wrapped them tightly around myself. All the better to keep me from shaking, because I shouldn’t be— I wasn’t even cold.

Zoro glanced over with a half-turn on the heel and a neutral expression. 

“Yeah,” he agreed. “You’re not.”

I winced. One thing to know it for myself. Another to hear it reinforced out loud like that. I’m not sure what Zoro was looking for, but he studied me another moment before stretching his arms and dropping them with a sigh. One went to rest on the hilt of his sword. The small action drew my eyes like a magnet, and hastily I dragged them back. Then, he… shrugged.

“It doesn’t bother me, if it bothers you,” he said at last. “I came to terms with it a long time ago— that not everyone sees eye to eye on this sort of thing. I figured out pretty quickly not to care.”

Huh. That was sort of sad.

“It’s… It’s not anything personal? Against you?” I said, feeling the need to defend myself, or reassure him, or… something, meeting his eye for it. He just quirked an eyebrow.

“Isn’t it?” he asked, looking amused, “Pretty sure you think differently of me now than you did ten minutes ago.” Oof. He had me there. That was embarrassing, and I felt ashamed. “Well, like I said—I don’t care. You’re basically just a civilian. There’s no reason you should think any differently.” 

See, there it was again. Something that almost stung, the way he said it, as casually as I thought he meant it. He wasn’t wrong— that’s what really got me, I think. And it hurt, knowing that about myself. I wanted to like him, after all. I… I’d… _expected _to like him. I mean, he was one of the good guys. Not a bad guy, not one of the numerous heartless villains from the series at all. But he was also someone who hunted other people. For a living. I guess that was where I’d set myself up to lose out. It was so much easier glossing over certain violent actions done in black and white. That I was seeing the aftermath of such…. Casual violence like this…

Haha, I was a filthy casual, to put it one way. I could almost make myself laugh at that.

“Well, anyway, for what it’s worth—“ Zoro was… sitting on the deck chair throne that Arlong had occupied not too long ago,“—none of these guys were worth the effort. They’re only mostly dead.”

“Uh, where does ‘mostly dead’ rank on the mortality scale?” I deadpanned, and then promptly slapped a hand over my mouth. Zoro smirked as he leaned back and crossed his legs, making himself right at home on the chair of a notorious murderous fishman pirate. Mostly dead? ‘Mostly dead?’ What did that even mean? There were still a fair amount of fishmen bleeding on the ground, here. Mostly dead wasn’t a real reassuring indicator but… well, even so, some of the twist in my gut eased, a bit of bitter relief that despite everything, I wasn’t hanging out with some crazy hardened killer. Mostly.

“Now what?” I sighed, staring out over the distant horizon.

“_I’m _waiting for Arlong,” Zoro said. He yawned. Really committing to this casual napping position, I see. “What about you?”

“What about me?” I echoed. Zoro cracked open a lazy eye, flicking it upwards in my direction.

“I think,” he said, “That you’re tangled up in a bunch of pirate business, and that you should figure out how far you’re willing to play along. Before you can’t turn back.”

* * *

Those ominous words sure left things on the weirdest note.

Thoughts upon thoughts upon… ugh. Small miracle that somewhere along the way I didn’t just get the biggest migraine. A scary thought— I think I was starting to desensitize to it all. God forbid I actually get used to this. I ran a hand through my hair (gross, I think I could feel the salt still in it) watching the dark reflection of the water below me. Zoro napped, content to wait it out; I’d found the least body-occupied patch of concrete by the entrance pool and sat down right on the edge. About where Nami had tried to throw me in the water, actually.

How far along I was willing to play along…?

How far I was going to _play…?_

But I wasn’t playing? I was just trying to… survive the shenanigans. It was everyone else who couldn’t keep things straight, or act normally at all, why wouldn’t anyone just a_ct normally— _No, that was wrong. I was the one who wasn’t normal. I was the outsider dropping the wrench in the works. The extra plot device in the narrative, throwing off the script and making things worse when they would have turned out perfectly fine without me and I _knew _that— no that wasn’t right either, because this wasn’t a _script! _Argh, argh! The paradox! I groaned into my hands, slumping over for a moment of abject despair over it all.

When I looked up again there was a face staring back at me from the water. It wasn’t my face.

Calypso waved cheerily from her water mirror.

……………………………………WHAT.

Over my shoulder I swiveled around— yeah, Zoro was out still. I swiveled back around— Calypso. Still there. The ocean was eerily calm, all smooth and glassy just like those other, and I’d really been that out of it?? It wasn’t small! What if someone saw?? To my horror, she was opening her mouth to s_peak! _

“_Shhhhh!!!!” _ In the lowest hiss I could make, praying Zoro wouldn’t hear me across the way, I waved my arms frantically in front of me, anything to keep her from speaking since we _weren’t alone. _Thankfully she seemed to get the picture; she tilted her head and looked confused, but didn’t speak. I tried to further emphasize my point— a meaningful tilt of the head over my shoulder. Exaggerated eye rolling, some kind of chopping motion with my hands. Uh, wait, I wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean. Calypso looked baffled.

Okay, uh… A jab at myself. An extra hard jab over my shoulder. Followed by the worst attempt at miming Zoro’s three-sword style without actually having any swords to mime with, but I _think _she got the picture as her eyes widened and her mouth formed a perfect ‘o’ in understanding. Then, uh, she nodded and winked in a dramatic fashion.

Her image blurred as waves overtook the mirror, and in seconds was gone, leaving me to sigh in relief. That wasn’t something I felt like explaining today. Wait, shit, what if she’d had information about getting home? _Aw man. _The timing on top of all that! Damn it, Calypso! Then, the waves made a funny little motion, swirling like water in a bathtub that had just had its plug pulled. Unlike in a bathtub, very quickly it snapped back— spitting out a small, hard object that smacked directly into my face.

“What the hell…?” Somehow I caught it before it bounced right back into the water, and it was a near thing, but luck was on my side, and now I had a thing in my hand. A small thing that sat very neatly in the palm of my hand. It looked like… was that beach glass?

A small glass piece sat innocently in my hand , dully shining under the sun. It was worn smooth, and slightly pitted, just like the little shards of beach glass I’d found on the beaches of my home world through carefully focused combing. This was bigger than those, but from the shape and form, it was almost like someone had fused several little pieces of beach glass into one complete sculpture. All in all, with the direction of the glass and the arrangement of the pattern… It looked like a little whirlpool. Huh. Why did Calpyso give me… this? It had to have been her. Oceans normally didn’t throw things at me like this.

The little whirlpool lay more or less flat, but an even smaller spiral up top split off to make a loop, one that looked as if something could be threaded through. Was this actually a pendant? Was it supposed to be a necklace? Well, I didn’t have anything to hang it on, so for now, I hesitantly stowed in the pocket of my baggy shorts. Hopefully it wouldn’t fall out. Wasn’t sure what to do with it, but a sea goddess had given it to me so it had to be good for… something. I probably could have found out, if she’d actually had the chance to speak.

In the middle of my puzzled musing, a sound came floating from the direction of the ocean, made abrupt just from how out of place it was. It kind of sounded like some brass instrument. Maybe… a trumpet? No, I hadn’t played full orchestra for years in school for nothing, that didn’t sound like any brass instrument I’d ever heard. 

Wait, wait, I remembered this. Oh no.

“What the hell is that?” Equal parts curious and irritated, somehow the noise carried enough to disrupt Zoro from yet another impromptu nap (tough luck, good naps were in a hell of a short supply around here) and before I could say something he was sauntering down the walkway to the great wall separating Arlong Park and the sea and in short order was exchanging words with the originator of the noise, which wouldn’t be a trumpet or anything at all, of course.

Hatchan was on the other side of the wall right now.

“Oh _no, _“ I mumbled. Forget Calypso and all other mysterious, time to deal with another round of plot nonsense. Okay, okay, no, this was fine. No time for sitting, of course— I sprung up and resisted the urge to pace. This was happening. Had to stay calm. Hatchan over the wall right now, who in his kind-hearted thick-headedness would give Zoro a ride to Cocoyashi village, right? Because Zoro was still waiting for Arlong and Nami both. I couldn’t help it, and shivered; leaving for Cocoyashi was a pretty pivotal action, all things considered. At last we were headed for a convergence point. Everything was coming to a head. Luffy was on his way right this minute.

Of course, Usopp was also on his way in a sense, if he’d been nabbed by Arlong by now. Good god, what was the timeline of events here? How quickly was everything supposed to happen?

“Oi.”

Aaaaaugh there weren’t any commercial breaks or transition panels here! I had no idea if things happened in a matter of minutes or hours!! What the hell!

“_Hey. _Woman!”

“My _name _is Kirsten,” I shot back automatically, winced, and finally acknowledged that Zoro was yelling at me down the way. Attention caught, he thumbed over his shoulder where he’d been talking over the wall.

“This guy’s offering a ride to Cocoyashi,” he called, “You coming, or what?”

I was a little baffled by the fact he was offering, I guess. After my less that flattering behavior just before. It’s not like I wanted to be left behind in a base full of downed pirate. Also… Also… still thinking a mile a minute. Arlong was coming back, like, right now with Usopp, right? And Nami? Wait, what chain of events was happening right now?? Could I just… suggest that we stay put? Logically Arlong was bound to come eventually… But that was a stupid thought, wasn’t it? Why would I suggest that? If I said something like that…

…Nami would be angry all over again that we didn’t listen and vacate. Luffy wouldn’t reconnect with Zoro. Usopp wouldn’t be free to join up either, and what if throwing things off meant he was stabbed or something, _for real?_ I don’t know what the hell Johnny was up to right now. And Zoro, I’d just be setting him up for a premature fight with Arlong because he _would _pick a fight, moron, overconfident no doubt from easily wiping the floor here, but against the fishman captain himself and his lieutenants combined—

Through some unexplained decision Zoro was still waiting for my response. Seconds were ticking by as I thought too much about stupid things I didn’t need to be poking my nose into. Just because I knew roughly what was happening… why on earth did that mean I had some kind of right to act on it?

How many seconds was I wasting by delaying him when he had better places to be? Zoro’s hideous Hawaiian shirt fluttered a bit, catching my eye to where it lay open, exposing his stark white bandages.

_‘Why aren’t you jumping in after him?’_

_‘Stay out of things you don’t understand.’_

_…how far was I willing to play along?_

I swallowed, and forced myself forward in a light jog to close the distance.

“Oh, good, I thought maybe you _wanted _to stay here,” Zoro said with an eye roll. I just stayed silent, just kept my legs moving and my face blank. The plot was important. The plot was safe. Following the plot meant I wouldn’t be putting anyone in danger, or messing things up any more than they had to be just from my presence alone.

It had worked out so far. I wouldn’t dare assume it would stay that way.

* * *

The real, unfortunate, answer to my question on just how quickly the timeline was moving was answered way too quickly for comfort.

“I take it all back!” I shrieked, “This is stupid, and _you’re _stupid!” 

“Shut up and run!” Zoro snapped right back, sprinting ahead with unnatural ease, holy shit what was this guy’s time on the mile test? I’m not even sure how I was keeping up in the first place. My lungs were _burning. _Hell, every time I opened my mouth there was steam rolling out from the force of my breathing alone.

Ride the Hatchan express to Cocoyashi: check. (“Oh! Is this your lady friend?” he’d said pleasantly on my appearance, which neither of us deigned to comment on ; truly he was as bizarre looking as I feared— six arms was nothing to sneeze at.)

Upon arriving at Cocoyashi, immediately find out we’d missed Arlong ages ago: _check. _

Turn around and start running right back to Arlong park: c_heck, check, _and throw the list out while I was ahead!! My legs weren’t built for this kind of running!! Wait, wait, _why _was I following him when I’d literally resolved to keep my nose out of the plot’s business?? What was I doing? _I _was the idiot now!

On that revelation I ground to halt and doubled over, panting and shaking and dropping steam like nobody’s business. This was _not _efficient at all. To my alarm, Zoro slowed on hearing me drop back. No, none of that—I waved, shooing him on.

“No! No, just go!” I wheezed, “I’ll— I’ll catch up! Just go on!”

He needed no further prompting, speeding right back up and leaving me in the dust. At least his priorities were straight there. Aw man, he wasn’t going to get lost, was he? I’d always thought it was weird how his directional handicap didn’t ramp up until later in the series. Whew… oops, there was totally a stitch in my side now. Cramp, cramp—

“Shit, okay,” I gasped, fanning my face desperately to cool down. A dead sprint would do that, but I was feeling way too hot for this to be all from that; I’m sure my face was glaring red, I felt so hot. Under my skin, though, that’s where it started getting weird. My blood felt like it was… churning, for lack of a better word. I didn’t even know what blood felt like, really, but it couldn’t be this. What with the steam puffing from my mouth like some kind of winded dragon, was there something going on here with my devil fruit? I had been mostly able to keep up with Zoro, and that in hindsight was a little crazy. Guy was way more fit than me.

I guess I did feel, lighter? In a sense, but I wasn’t sure how noticeable an effect it made. I refused to believe that a logia fruit would go so far as to make me physically more fit than I’d been in the first place; still, the rapid pressure inside me, the frantic beating of my heart, hammering way too loud and quickly, the heat radiating around my body—

Actually. I think the dragon metaphor was wrong. Listening to myself, feeling how I felt, maybe a more apt comparison would be to an… an… engine. A… steam engine.

Hm. Hmm. I don’t think, when it came to logia users, was it possible that there were more scenes than not of them pointedly _not _using their own two feet to move around? I looked unsteadily at my legs. Solid, human-like, fleshy. Not steam. Oh, man, I was missing out completely here. Why was I running when by all rights I could just as easily be flying?

…how the hell could I do that? I’d freaked out consciously trying to change the shape of my arms alone in the brig. I couldn’t just, change a whole half of me like that at the drop of a hat.

There wasn’t any time anyway. Zoro was a dot in the distance. The wind was blowing, the trees were swaying, and if I listened, I could hear the chirping of birds and bugs, as well as a faint and distant sound of screaming, growing louder by the secon—

Huh.

I was still half-keeled over and steadying my breath, but I craned my neck upward in confusion, wondering where the screaming possibly could be coming from when we weren’t anywhere near Arlong Park or anything. Somewhere up ahead came a crackle; also growing louder. Hm, it sound a bit like breaking wood. Or, a lot of breaking wood. A whole lot of breaking wood heading exactly in my direction—

A ship came bursting out of the tree line. A whole-ass ship, traveling an indeterminate amount of miles per hour, most importantly one helmed by three familiar figures in varying states of fear, panic, and exhilaration as their ride came plowing across the road, as easily as if it were the very waters it normally would be sailing.

Haha, who was I kidding. Most of what I saw was just a smear of color. All I really could do was bug my eyes out and open my mouth to scream, at which point the quick time event timed out and the entire bulk of the flying ship slammed squarely into the sitting duck that was my motionless body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [To Be Continued.](https://youtu.be/cPCLFtxpadE?t=40)
> 
> I am not extremely pleased with this chapter but you know what!! I’m almost at the point I’ve been working towards that is the whole reason I started in this corner of the blues in the first place!!! I’m working on the next chapter immediately!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!!!!!!!


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